


Escaping Time

by FaithfullyNerdy



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Series 5, Series 6, Teenage Original Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 11:45:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 137,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21074360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithfullyNerdy/pseuds/FaithfullyNerdy
Summary: The touch of an angel brings Jemma Woods to Ellis Island, 1897. She is left to die on the streets as "another immigrant”…Until her savior arrives in a blue box.





	1. This isn't Rio

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after the events of Vampires of Venice.

"So Doctor, where are we going today?" Amelia Pond excitedly asked as she skipped up to the TARDIS console.

The Doctor looked to be in deep concentration, pulling an occasional lever and fixing his bowtie. It was a nervous habit of his.

"Oh, you know. Here and there," he muttered absentmindedly. 

Amy rolled her eyes. Rory sat on the jump seat, "reading" a book to keep his mind occupied. Amy walked over until she was next to the Time Lord who was still deep in thought. "Doctor, you don't suppose..." she trailed off. 

"Suppose what, Amy?"

"...I could pick where to go. You're always the one who chooses where to go," she said with a pout. 

"Is that a bad thing?"

Rory cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Um, yeah, it kind of is. Don't you remember last time? Sexy fish vampires in Venice?"

"Not exactly the 'ideal' romantic holiday," Amy added. 

"Do you have somewhere in mind, Amelia?" the Doctor asked. He seemed to be at a loss for places to go. Maybe having Amy choose would be a good idea.

She started bouncing with glee. "Ooh! Can we go to Rio? I've always wanted to go to Rio, please can we go?" Amy asked, radiating excitement that made the Doctor excited, too.

"Rio! Excellent choice, Pond!" 

She squealed as the TARDIS took off, and pulled Rory to his feet. Amy knew how insecure Rory was about himself. He never thought he was good enough for Amy and that she'd find someone better. This was her chance to prove he was the only one for her. 

The Doctor grinned as the TARDIS landed and excitedly ran for the doors, Amy pulling Rory along. "Amelia Pond, Rory Williams, welcome..." He threw open the doors and lifted his hands in pride, facing his companions. "... to Rio!"

They went silent except for the sound of crashing waves and chattering people. For a second, the Doctor thought he got it right which made him feel more proud of himself.

"Doctor, are you sure this is Rio?" Amy asked in disbelief.

"What- of course it is. I got it right."

She laughed sourly. "No, you didn't."

"Doctor, we're in the wrong place!" Rory groaned.

At this moment, the Doctor was afraid to turn around. Where did he take them? It couldn't be that bad. How far off could he have gotten it?

Suddenly, a blast of cold wind sent the trio shivering. The Doctor warily turned his head. The doors were opened to a long, dirty street with people crowded in by the bay.

They were dirty and dressed in raggedy clothes. They looked to be just coming off a large ferry. Across the bay stood the Statue of Liberty next to the city of Manhattan. Everything looked like it belonged in grainy black and white photos.

"Doctor, where are we?" Rory asked tiredly. 

"New York. We're in America," he answered grimly.

"This doesn't look like it's in our time. When is this?" Amy asked.

"I would say... 1890, about. And that..." he gestured to an island. "...is Ellis Island."

*** * * ***

"Ellis Island? You mean all those people are immigrants?" Amy asked in disbelief. She was thankful to be back in the warm TARDIS.

The Doctor was busy checking the scanner's screen. "April 12th, 1897. Just before the fire..."

"What fire?" Rory asked sternly.

"No, no, the fire isn't for another two months..."

Amy groaned at his dramatics. "Doctor, this is the wrong place! Let's just forget it an-" He was already out the door. Amy and Rory shared a sigh before following him outside.

The crowd of immigrants had grown, all huddling together to keep warm. Rory quickly disappeared into the crowd. Amy ran after him, holding her breath as the smell was overpowering. She couldn't push her way through and was forced to go with the crowd, deeper into the street. "Rory! Doctor!"

Eventually, Amy escaped the crowd and found herself on an empty street. The Doctor and Rory weren't in sight. "Great," she groaned.

Of course she'd get lost on Ellis Island of all places. She was surprised she even ended up on an empty street. Ellis Island is known for being crowded with people filling every street. She never expected this.

The street was deserted besides the tall buildings that towered over, facing the other side of the bay. Deciding to find the Doctor and Rory, Amy set off down the street. She'd look up at the tall buildings, the occasional window slamming in disgust.

_Do I look like an immigrant?_

Ignoring it, she continued walking. She could feel the prying eyes watching her like a hawk. The only sound heard was the crashing waves and her shoes clopping against the concrete.

As Amy was about to turn back, she found a dirty, dark alley in between two of the large buildings. She looked down, expecting to find it abandoned. Instead she saw a young girl propped up against some crates by the wall.

The poor girl didn't look much older than seventeen. She was wearing a short, black lace dress with long sleeves. She had lace flats to match, but she looked worse for wear. Her dress was ripped and covered in grime. Her brown hair was tangled and she looked like she hadn't eaten in weeks. The girl appeared to be asleep, but Amy could tell she needed help.

"Ah, Amelia! Glad we found you, almost thought we never would." The Doctor and Rory were walking down the street; Well, the Doctor was walking. Rory was jogging. "Where've you been?" he asked.

"J-Just trying to find you guys." Amy squeaked in surprise when Rory threw his arms around her. She laughed and gently pushed him away. "I'm fine, stupid. I was just looking around."

"You can never be too careful around here, Amy," the Doctor added, looking cautiously around the tall buildings. "You never know what could possibly happen in a place like this."

He looked back at Amy to see her gazing down the alley with pity in her eyes. "Amy?"

The Doctor and Rory followed Amy's eyes to an unconscious girl in the corner of the alley. Was she an immigrant? She must be if she's this close to Ellis Island.

"She's just another immigrant, Amy. I'm sorry," the Doctor said softly.

"What, so you're just gonna leave her?" Amy whispered, pain evident in her voice.

"This is just history moving along, Amy. There are thousands just like her," the Doctor replied, trying to pull her away from the alley and back to the TARDIS.

Rory spoke, "Amy, you don't know what sort of... diseases she could have."

"That doesn't make it okay," she hissed.

Rory stared down the alley with an expression of sympathy. Amy seemed to be holding in tears as Rory wrapped an arm around her.

"She's dying, Amy. It's too late for her," the Doctor whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She sniffed and buried her face in Rory's shoulder. He hugged her tightly as the Doctor gazed at the girl sadly. She looked extremely malnourished and her skin was a light shade of gray. She wouldn't last much longer.

"Come along, Pond." The Doctor put a hand on Amy's back, signaling her to leave. Suddenly, he heard the ruffling of clothes coming from the alley. Amy heard it, too. They turned their heads to see the young girl waking up. The poor thing looked like she was about to fall back under.

She turned her head until she saw the trio at the end of the alley. Her weary eyes sparked to life as she quickly tried to stand up, but fell onto her hands and knees. Before they knew it, Amy escaped Rory's tight embrace and ran toward the girl.

"Amy, no!" Ignoring their protests, Amy quickly kneeled down and took the girl's hand.

She was freezing and Amy saw how skinny she was up close. “P-Please... please help me."

The Doctor and Rory looked horrified, but Amy squeezed her hand. "Don't worry. My friend can help you." 

The girl's dark green eyes welled up with tears as she was losing her strength. "Please, I don't know where I am o-or how I got here... please, I just wanna go home."

She had an English accent, so she clearly wasn't from New York. The Doctor placed a hand on Rory's shoulder who stood there in shock. The girl was very much alive and breathing.

They both walked over as the girl spilled her emotions out to the first kind woman she'd seen in weeks. Amy grasped her hand tighter in attempt to calm her down. "Hey, hey, hey. You're gonna be alright, I promise. My friends and I are gonna help you." 

The girl continued sobbing as the Doctor and Rory knelt down beside Amy. The Doctor gave her a cheerful smile. "Hello, I'm the Doctor," he said soothingly. "Can you tell me your name?"

The girl swallowed her tears and took in a big breath. "J-Jaime." 

"Jaime, that's a beautiful name! You're not from America, are you?"

“N-No."

"You're a long way from home. Do you have any parents?"

Tears slid down Jaime's face as her body shook with sobs. "Shh, it’s alright,” the Doctor said, lifting up her head. He could feel her fever radiating off her body. "We'll help you, Jaime. I promise you that."

Amy panicked as the girl's weak grip suddenly weakened more. "Doctor!"

"Get her to the TARDIS, Rory." Jaime passed out as Rory gently picked her up. She was so light that it made him feel sick. The Doctor smiled down at Jaime as her eyes fluttered closed. 

"Don't you worry, Jaime. You'll be up and about in no time."

When they reached the TARDIS, Rory, being the nurse that he is, immediately took her to the sick bay to start nursing her back to health. As the Doctor stood at the console, Amy joined him.

"Doctor, do you think she's an immigrant?" 

"I'm not sure, Pond. We don't know how long she's been in America. We'll have to wait until she is well enough to tell us."

The Doctor noticed Amy started to fidget. "Er, Doctor, she said she didn't have any parents."

"No, she doesn't."

"Do... do you think that maybe... maybe she could stay here for a while... until she's better," she added quickly.

The Doctor smiled warmly. "It's not like she's going anywhere." Amy beamed and ran down to the sick bay to see how Jaime was coming along.


	2. Jemma Woods

Every now and then, the Doctor went in the sick bay to see how Jaime was coming along. Amy was always by her side even though Jaime was always asleep. Amy had put her in a simple, loose nightie to replace her torn, black dress.

Her skin was no longer smeared with dirt and her brown hair was silky clean. She was quite beautiful, besides her still sickly pale skin. Rory managed to bring her fever down, but she still needed to be fed in small portions.

Amy sleepily sat by Jaime's bed while Rory was in the control room, telling the Doctor about Jaime's progress. She was certainly getting better, but he wanted to wait until she was strong enough to keep herself awake.

Until then, she had been awake for seconds at a time, but didn't know what was going on. Amy was starting to doze off when she heard a quiet groan and the sheets shuffle. Her head snapped up to see Jaime start to wake up.

Her green eyes widened when she realized she wasn't in an alley anymore. She started to panic until Amy jumped to her feet. "Hey, it's okay. You're okay." She took Jaime's hand, calming her once she recognized Amy.

"Where am I?"

"You're in a... medical bay in the TARDIS," Amy said calmly before smiling warmly.

"TARDIS?"

"Er, I'll explain it later. It's alright, you're not going back to New York."

Jaime let out a sigh of relief and leaned back into her bed. "How are you feeling?" Amy asked.

"Honestly? Like I've been hit by a bus," she groaned.

Amy laughed softly. She gently helped Jaime sit up, smiling as the color came back to her face. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, about a week? Maybe nine days?" Amy sat down on her bed, still holding her hand. Jaime still looked frail and confused about her surroundings.

"I'm so sorry, but I never got your name."

Amy smiled at the teen's politeness. "My name is Amy. The man who's been taking care of you is my fiancé, Rory. And the weirdo hanging around is the Doctor."

The girl giggled and seemed to be relaxing. "You said your name is Jaime?" Amy confirmed.

"Well, actually my name is Jemma, but I prefer Jaime. Jemma's rubbish for a name."

Before Amy could answer, Rory and the Doctor came running in as soon as they discovered Jaime was awake. "Ah, Jaime!" the Doctor greeted loudly.

Amy noticed Jaime's grip on her hand tighten as she tensed up. She gently rubbed the top of her hand with her thumb and threw a sharp glare at the Doctor which he ignored.

"You're awake! That's brilliant, isn't it, Rory?" he beamed.

Rory ignored him and started checking Jaime over. "How do you feel?"

Suddenly feeling shy, she replied, "Better. I really appreciate it, thank you."

Rory smiled softly as the Doctor stood next to Amy. "Now, Jaime, you said your real name is Jemma, didn't you?" the Doctor asked.

She visibly cringed. "Please don't call me Jemma."

"Yes, it's rubbish, isn't it," he agreed absentmindedly.

"Doctor!" Amy cried, whacking him on the arm.

"Oi, _she_ said it!"

She gave him another deep glare and Rory pretended he didn't notice. Instead he asked, "Jaime, you don't sound like you're from America."

"Er, no... I've lived in London for most of my life. We moved from America when I was four."

"How'd you end up in Ellis Island?"

She looked down at her lap. "I... I don't know. It just sort of... happened."

Amy turned away from the Doctor and said, "Okay, what do you remember doing before you ended up here? Were you at home or-"

"No," she said curtly, interrupting Amy. "I was- At least, I'm pretty sure I was... at the graveyard. For my... my mother's funeral. M-Melanie Woods. She died in a p-plane crash..."

Jaime took a deep breath to keep herself from breaking down. The atmosphere became very sad at the sudden subject change.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor replied with almost no emotion.

Jaime swallowed hard. "I was at her funeral with the rest of my family. After the service, I stayed behind to... to say goodbye."

She was struggling to keep in her tears as Amy gripped her hand tighter. Her mother must have been very dear to her. "When was this?"

"About three months ago. I've been in New York for three months."

This made it harder for the trio. Jaime had been alone for so long, after she just lost her mother. Nothing could be harder.

"I remember I was alone and then I felt... a presence behind me. Like when you know someone is behind you. Before I could do anything, something... touched me. The next thing I know, I'm in Ellis Island, living on the streets because everyone saw me as an immigrant."

"When were you born, Jaime?" the Doctor suddenly asked.

"What?"

"You must be about sixteen, is that right?" She nodded solemnly. "What year were you born?"

"1994."

"But we were in 1897. Right?" Amy asked.

"Yes," he replied grimly.

"But I don't understand. She's from London, from _our_ time. How did she travel back in time to New York?" Rory asked, completely confused by the whole situation.

"The touch of an angel. She was touched by a Weeping Angel."

Amy tensed, remembering the crash of the Byzantium with all of the angels onboard. "What's a Weeping Angel?" Jaime asked innocently.

"A species that resemble stone statues. One touch and they send you back in time, taking the days you would have lived out in England."

"Species? Of what?"

The Doctor grinned smugly. "Alien, of course."

Jaime blanked. "Alien?" Then she let out a laugh of disbelief, confusing the others. "You were right about him! He _is_ a weirdo," she pointed out to Amy.

"Oi, _I'm_ the weirdo?" the Doctor pointed to himself, looking offended.

Amy ignored him and said, "Jaime... I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. Hate to break it to you, but the weirdo in the bowtie is one himself."

Jaime was about to make a joke, but then saw the seriousness on everyone's faces. "You can't be serious. This _has_ to be a joke," she almost whispered.

Everyone kept silent, not knowing how to react. "Well... if you're so keen on believing that aliens exist... prove it."

The Doctor's face lit up as he threw her sheets back and swiftly picked her up as if she weighed nothing. Strictly speaking, she _did_ weigh nothing. Jaime squeaked in surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck, hiding her growing blush.

As he treaded down the long hallway, Amy and Rory stayed hot on their trail. Jaime was surprised at how big this place was. It went on forever!

When they reached the console, the Doctor set her down on the jump seat and excitedly raced around it, flipping various switches. Amy steadied Jaime as the TARDIS rocked back and forth. Jaime was nervous, but thrilled all the same. Were they on some sort of ship?

Once they stopped, the Doctor peered at Jaime. She looked nervous, but tried to hide it. He walked over and reached his hands out to her. She gave him a wary look, but placed her small hands in his. "That's it," he whispered encouragingly.

Jaime accepted that he wouldn't let her fall and tried to pull herself up, but her legs turned to jello. The Doctor lifted her up to the chair again and smiled at her warmly. Jaime felt exhausted from only her first try. She wanted to go back to bed, but he wouldn't let her.

"It hurts," she whispered.

"Take it slow." He could tell how tired she was, but still gripped her hands like his life depended on it. Amy kept Rory from jumping forward, watching in wonder as Jaime slowly, but surely pulled herself to her feet. The Doctor grinned, holding her hands tightly like she was learning to walk.

Jaime took one small, painful step forward until she was able to put one foot in front of the other. The Doctor led her down the small steps until they were standing in front of the TARDIS doors. He slowly let go of her hands, leaving her to obtain her own balance.

She looked like a helpless child that couldn't figure out how she got to her feet. The Doctor walked to the doors and paused to open them.

"Jaime Woods... say hello to the universe."

He opened the doors and stepped back. Jaime almost fell over in shock. Outside the TARDIS doors was indeed the universe. She stared in awe at the many galaxies and stars swirling around. It was all so beautiful, it had to be real. She took a few steps forward until she was at the edge, getting as close as possible.

"How can I breathe?"

"The TARDIS is protecting us, keeping the oxygen inside. What do you think?"

He looked down at Jaime who couldn't take her eyes away from the splendor. "It's magnificent. Are we on a... a spaceship?"

"Of a sort. It travels through time and space. That's how we found you in 1897."

"TARDIS... that's a curious name."

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space. She can take you anywhere, anytime in the universe."

All this time, Jaime couldn't tear her eyes away. It was so beautiful and real. She felt like she had to believe it. "So... you're an alien?"

"I'm a Time Lord."

This confused Jaime. "If you're an alien, why do you look human?"

"You look Time Lord. We came first," he preened.

"Fair enough. So, you're a species like those... Weeping Angels, I'm guessing."

The Doctor chuckled. "Not exactly. There are thousands, millions of species yet to be discovered. Who knows how many Weeping Angels are among them. As for the Time Lords... I'm the last of them," he said in a sorrowful tone.

Jaime frowned. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No, it's alright. 900 years of time travel keeps you busy."

"900?!"

"Didn't I mention that?"

"No, not exactly!"

The two fell into a comfortable silence. The colors outside mixed together in the most beautiful way. Never in her life had Jaime seen anything as jaw dropping. She wish she could stay here forever. But she knew it wasn't possible. "What happens now?"

"Whatever you wish."

Jaime blushed. "You're being awfully nice to me, Doctor. You save me from Ellis Island, you nurse me back to health, you show me the universe... I don't know how to repay you."

"Ah, don't you worry about that. There's more important things to worry about than 'paying me back'."

Jaime finally looked away from the view and turned to the Doctor. "What sort of things?"

Instead of answering, the Doctor closed the TARDIS doors and raced back to the console. Jaime painfully turned around and held her arms out to help balance herself as she walked back to Amy and Rory.

"So! Jaime! What sort of family do you have left?" the Doctor asked.

Jaime was taken aback by this question as the Doctor continued racing around the console. "Um, not much. I have a couple of aunts and uncles in London, but they don't want anything to do with me."

"Don't you have a dad, Jaime?" Amy asked.

Jaime's face fell. "Yeah. I do. He left my mom four years ago. He keeps coming back into my life even though mum and I always tried to stop him."

"Does he live nearby?" The Doctor didn't seem to think anything was wrong with Jaime's dad. He was the only real family she had left and that was all that mattered to the Doctor.

"Er, he lives in Colchester with his _girlfriend_." Jaime shuddered in disgust. Amy and Rory could tell Jaime really despised her father and his girlfriend.

"So, Jaime, since you haven't been home in a considerable amount of time, I've decided to take you back to England," the Doctor decided.

"What?!" All three of them shouted in protest.

"Oi, no need to shout! She has her own life to get back to, and we have no right to keep her with us."

"I don't have any family back home! They would rather have me live on the streets than in their house."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"Doctor, she's not well! She'll have to stay until she's strong enough," Rory protested.

"What'd you think I am, stupid?" the Doctor rambled. "Rory, you keep... doing your nurse-y thing. Jaime, you'll be back to England with your old human life soon enough. Amy, take her to the wardrobe. I doubt she'll want to stay in that nightie forever. There! Everything's solved!"

Before anyone could protest, the Doctor ran from the room, down an ominous hallway to God knows where. As Jaime turned to the couple, Rory said, "Yeah. He always does this."

She sighed. "Great."

Amy tried to smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go shopping."

*** * * ***

Jaime couldn't contain her excitement from the overwhelming amount of clothes. She's never been one to dress up, but she felt like she was going to more often. The clothes seemed to be endless, everything different colors and styles.

Amy was having the time of her life with Jaime. They found themselves spending hours trying on strange dresses and large hats. It felt like shopping with the sister she never had.

Amy was constantly pushing clothing at Jaime, begging her to try it on. Jaime had never done anything like this, even with her mum. She felt that "shopping" with Amy was making up for lost time.

"So, what was your mum like?" Amy asked.

Jaime froze. She hoped she'd be able to avoid this. "She was very kind and loved me, just like any mother should. She never felt like she was doing a good job at being a mother. She always told me how much better off I'd be without her."

Amy gave me a sad smile. "I know how she feels. I don't think I'd be a very good mother."

"You'd be a great mum! I can see you being the mum that's overprotective, but in a good way. Very loving and not willing to watch someone suffer without making someone else pay."

Amy laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like me. Overprotective and stubborn."

"I didn't say that was a bad thing." After going through clothes, Jaime had a pair of black high top converse under her arms and dark blue jeans. "What about you, Amy? What are your parents like?"

"Oh, I um... I never knew my parents. I grew up with my aunt."

Jaime stiffened. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Eh, it's alright. It wasn't too bad. What about your dad? I can tell you don't like him very much."

Jaime groaned loudly. "I can't _stand_ my dad. He doesn't want anything to do with me or my mum, yet he keeps coming back. I guess it's to show off. He has a girlfriend and he's always drowning his sorrows with alcohol."

"Wow. That took a turn."

"It's just the way it is. My parents are divorced, my mother's dead... I have nowhere to go except my dad's house. Do you think the Doctor's really gonna send me back?"

Amy took a black t-shirt and olive green jacket off the hangers. "_He's_ not gonna do anything of the sort." Jaime grinned and Amy shoved the clothes into her arms. "Ooh! Try these on."

Jaime raced into a dressing room to quickly put on her new clothes. She looked in the mirror and felt quite pleased with herself. She pulled her brown hair into a side braid that hung a few inches past her shoulder.

She looked like the Jaime before everything happened. Before the TARDIS, before New York, before the funeral. Back when she had a better life.

She opened the door and stood before Amy who grinned with satisfaction. "It's perfect! You look beautiful."

Jaime turned shy once again. "I haven't been so happy in a long time. Thank you, Amy."

"No problem, sweetie," she replied with a sad smile.


	3. Finding Melanie Woods

Jaime had been traveling in the TARDIS for five months. Rory never let her out of his sight if he could help it. Being the nurse he is, he always made sure Jaime was up to par and making progress in her health.

Thanks to the TARDIS sick bay, Jaime was recovering faster than the average human. She was strong enough to run (which is expected when traveling with the Doctor) and she didn't need supervision 24/7.

The longer she stayed, the more she learned about the Doctor. He had many enemies that he often ran into while traveling through time and space. She also found out about the Last Great Time War; the war that destroyed his planet along with the rest of the Time Lords and a race called the Daleks.

The Doctor also told her he didn't mean to come to New York in the first place. They found Jaime by accident which made her thankful the TARDIS messed up and got him to her. "Doctor" wasn't his real name which confused her, but also made her relieved his real name wasn't "Doctor".

She tried to get him to tell her his real name by letting it slip. But he knew better and said, "Better luck next time, Jemma." That made her stop pestering him. Being called Jemma was enough punishment.

Oh, and the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. Jaime found out the hard way.

While escaping Sontarans on some distant planet, they ran back to the TARDIS and Jaime ran right past it, expecting it to be bigger than a police box.

She absolutely adored the TARDIS, especially when she got her own room. It was better than the room she had in London.

Although the last five months were hard, they were the best five months of Jaime's life. As she got back to her normal self, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory were always there to watch out for her. There was always someone to take care of her and whenever she felt up to it, she'd go on an adventure with the trio. Everything was better than she expected.

But she always had a prodding thought in the back of her mind. She remembered the Doctor saying that once she was well enough, she'd be going to Colchester where her dad lived. Jaime tried to forget it, hoping the Doctor would, too. She couldn't see a life for herself in Colchester. Plus, having her own room in the TARDIS made her feel like a more permanent guest.

Jaime tugged her olive green jacket around her body and saw that the Doctor was the only one in the room. He was underneath the glass floor, working under the console. It seemed that whenever they weren't on an adventure, he'd be working on his precious ship. Boys and their toys.

She was still shy even though she had been with them for so long. She quietly walked towards the console, hoping the Doctor would notice her so she wouldn't have to say anything to get his attention. He had big, steampunk-like goggles on as he tinkered. Sparks flew now and then, but they didn't bother the Doctor; he was used to it.

Jaime cleared her throat loudly a few times until the Doctor moved his goggles to the top of his head and looked up.

"Jemma! Just the one I wanted to see." He dropped whatever he was holding and ran up the stairs until he was at the console.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked nervously.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a question."

Oh, no. Jaime could feel what was coming next. The Doctor looked quite uncomfortable himself. "Jaime... you remember what I said when you first came with us, don't you?"

Her stomach dropped. She was stupid to think he forgot about the whole thing. "You told me that once I got better, you'd... you'd take me back to Colchester. To live with my father."

The Doctor gave her a sad look, but was trying to look like nothing was wrong. "Clearly, your sickness is gone and you've never been better." He tried to comfort her with a painful smile. He _really_ didn't want to discuss this.

Jaime couldn't find the strength to give a small smile. She knew this was it. "You're getting rid of me," she whispered. "You don't want me here anymore?"

"No, no, Jaime, of course not," he said softly, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Then why are you making me leave?" she mumbled into his chest as he rubbed her back.

"You deserve a better life than this, Jaime. You don't want to be stuck with an old man in a blue box."

"But Doctor, I love it. These past few months have been the best months of my life. You've shown me so much, more than I could have ever dreamed of."

He sighed. "Jaime, everyone who stays with me never get the chance to live their own lives. The universe is fascinating, but you're spending your life in danger as long as you're with me. You deserve more than that."

She solemnly nodded, and the Doctor gently kissed the top of her head before jumping away. "So! It's your last trip in the TARDIS, let's make it a good one." He raced over to the controls and looked over at her with pride. "Where to, Jemma? Anywhere in the universe."

Jaime glared at him. "Don't call me that ever again."

The Doctor ignored her and continued. "Any place in the universe. Any planet, any city, any time, oh the list goes on!"

Jaime grinned at his excitement. "Do you think... we could go back in time?"

"Oh, sorry, the TARDIS doesn't travel through time. Such a disappointment- of course we can! How far back?"

"...eight months?" All movement ceased and it got tensely silent. The only noise heard was the soft humming of the TARDIS. "What happened eight months ago, Jaime?"

_Is he not going to let me go once he finds out where I want to go?_

"I want to see... my mum before she died. I didn't go to the airport with her and..."

"You want to say goodbye.”

She nodded sadly. Jaime remembered right before her mother left, and they got in an argument about Jaime's well being. Melanie thought Jaime would be better off in Colchester. Jaime refused and they got in a heated argument that ended with Jaime storming out of the house. The next day, her mother left and she never saw her again.

The Doctor had a storm raging in his mind. He felt bad for Jaime, but at the same time, he didn't want her getting hurt. He remembered a certain blonde who wanted to do the same thing; wanted to say goodbye to a dead parent. It'd be a disaster if Jaime tried to save her mother.

She knew she had asked for too much. "Jaime..."

"Please, Doctor! If this is my last trip, shouldn't I get to go where I want?"

"I'm sure you can think of something else."

Jaime took a step forward. "Why? Is this 'too dangerous'? It's not like I'm going to an alien planet or there'll be monsters there!"

"I'm doing this for your own good," he spoke emotionless.

"You don't know that!"

"Yes, I do, Jemma!"

Her eyes widened when the Doctor raised his voice. Yes, she's heard him yell before, but it was never directed towards her. Even worse, he used her real name, but not in a teasing way. Jaime shrunk back and slowly backed away. The Doctor turned away and flipped a couple of switches.

"It's not safe, Jaime."

Tears welled up in Jaime's eyes which she painfully blinked away. "Yeah. It's so bad you can't tell me why."

He groaned quietly. "Jaime..."

She was already gone. No matter how guilty he felt, it wasn't a risk he was willing to take. Jaime ran down the corridor until she reached her room. She kept herself from slamming the door, and let the tears fall. How could he? He doesn't understand how much this means to her.

Her mother was the light of her world. Jaime couldn't live with herself knowing her mum's last thoughts were that Jaime hated her. How could she not take advantage of fixing that moment with a time machine in her hands?

*** * * ***

Amy was sleeping with Rory fast asleep next to her. Well, "sleeping" meaning she was wide awake and unable to calm her mind. She barely saw Jaime today and when she did, she looked upset. She hardly spoke a word, which wasn't unusual, but she carried a sad presence with her. She seemed to be avoiding the Doctor which just confused Amy more.

Suddenly, the gentle hums of the TARDIS increased and everything began shaking. It was as if she was preparing to travel. Amy brushed it off as the Doctor going on a quick trip. Rory started to stir until he was wide awake.

"Amy? What's going on?"

"The Doctor is just passing time. You know how he never sleeps."

Suddenly, they jumped when they heard a pounding at their door. "Amy! Rory, open the door!”

Amy jumped up and threw on her dressing gown. She opened the door to find the Doctor in a state of panic. He was wearing the same clothes that he always wore which didn't surprise Amy. The alien never sleeps. "You're both here..."

"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" Amy asked.

Rory came up from behind her. "Doctor, if you're not flying the TARDIS... who is?"

They all went silent in expectation as the TARDIS suddenly lurched to the right, making a strained hum. "Jaime!" the Doctor shouted.

The three of them immediately took off down the corridor, hitting the wall as the TARDIS made another uncomfortable jostle. The Doctor was the first one in the console room. He looked up to see Jaime furiously flipping switches and pushing buttons, obviously not knowing what she was doing.

She let out a cry of frustration and angrily hit the console. "Come on!" she yelled. The Doctor quickly ran up behind Jaime and pulled her away before she could do any real damage.

"No! No, Doctor, stop!" He passed a flailing Jaime to Rory and quickly calmed the TARDIS down. Jaime settled down until she silently cried in Rory's arms. The Doctor faced her, anger brewing inside.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?!"

"You wouldn't let me see her! All I want is to see my mum, but you said no!"

"You could've blown up the TARDIS!"

"It doesn't matter if I never get to see her again! Is that too much to ask for?!"

"Sneaking off in the night is the best way to do that then?" the Doctor snarked.

"If that's what it takes, then yes!"

The Doctor was angry beyond belief, but he couldn't suppress his guilt. All the girl wanted was to see her mother. "Go to bed, Jemma. We'll be in Colchester in the morning."

Jaime's jaw dropped. "I can't go there! There is nothing left for me there! Or would you rather have me living on the street again?"

"That's enough, Jemma!"

Normally, Jaime wouldn't let him call her Jemma without him getting a sharp glare. But this time, she knew she crossed the line. She tried to take the TARDIS to find her mum, disobeying the Doctor in the process. He glared at her one more time as if she was one of his enemies.

"Amy, make sure she gets to bed," he said quietly. He turned away without another word.

Amy, who had been silently standing off to the side, took Jaime from Rory's arms and gently led her back to her own room. Meanwhile, Rory was still trying to process what just happened. After a couple awkward seconds, he decided to have his say.

"Doctor, why won't you let Jaime see her mum?"

He was afraid the Doctor was going to lash out at him, seeing as he was still angry. Instead, the Doctor let out a sigh. "It's too dangerous. I'm doing it for her own good."

"Her own good?"

"Jaime doesn't know how hard it'll be to say goodbye to her mother. She'll just end up trying to keep her mum from getting on that plane, then just like that! A woman that is dead is alive again."

"Why does that have to be a bad thing? Jaime will have her mum back, she'll have the life that was taken from her."

The Doctor sighed irritably. "Melanie Wood's death is a fixed point in time. Who knows what would happen if Jaime made her mum miss her flight."

Rory understood, but they didn't know if Jaime would try to save her. Maybe she just truthfully wanted to say goodbye. "May... maybe Amy and I could be close by and make sure Jaime doesn't do anything. We can make sure she doesn't try to save Melanie."

The Doctor turned to walk down the corridor. "No, Rory. No matter how fast you are, you can't prevent everything. I've seen this before. Jaime will get caught up in the moment... and it'll be too late."

*** * * ***

"I feel so guilty. I feel like I just have to... do something about it," Jaime cried.

She sat on her bed, tears streaming down her face. Amy had taken her back to her room and she was trying to get Jaime to explain everything to her.

"Sweetheart, don't feel guilty. The Doctor will forgive you."

"No... no, it's not that. It's my mum." Amy was sitting beside Jaime who was staring down at her hands in her lap.

"Why are you so keen on seeing your mum? Hmm?" Amy asked softly. Jaime sniffed and quickly wiped her eye.

"Mum and I got in a fight before she left. She lost her job and we were close to losing our house. She thought I'd be better off living with my dad. I ended up storming out and over to a friend's house. I came home and she was already gone. She got a plane ticket to one of my family member's houses to try to get more money."

Poor Amy didn't know what to say. Jaime had every right to feel guilty. All she wanted to do was say goodbye to her mother and apologize for her actions. She didn't know they were going to be her last memories of her. All Amy could do was pull her into a hug. Jaime started crying again and Amy could only hold her tighter.

"You have every right to feel guilty, Jaime. But you shouldn't let those memories haunt you. Your mother knew how much you loved her no matter how angry you got. If you find yourself feeling guilty again, just remember all of the good times you had together. Don't fill your life with guilt."

Jaime nodded and eventually let Amy put her to bed. She felt very childish for having Amy do this, but she didn't have the strength to care. Amy was the closest person she had to a mother anymore. Once she was wrapped up in bed, Amy kissed her forehead and left her to fall asleep. Her mood switched as soon as she closed the bedroom door.

It was time to find the Doctor.


	4. End of the Line

Jaime felt the guilt eating her alive the next morning. Furthermore, she knew today was going to be one of the worst days she'd ever have to face. The Doctor was making her leave the TARDIS. He was dumping her in Colchester to live out her years with an alcoholic father and his snobby girlfriend.

All Jaime wanted to do was hide in her room. She didn't want to leave the TARDIS. She didn't want to say goodbye to the Doctor, Amy, and Rory. She especially didn't want to go to Colchester. She just wanted things to stay the way they were. But Jaime knew she couldn't hide from it. No matter how hard she tried.

With her shoulders sagging, she opened the door to the corridor, leaving her in a state of sadness. This wouldn't be the first time happiness was taken from her.

She trudged down the corridor until she got to the console room. The Doctor was wearing the same clothes he always seems to wear. His brown hair was more of a mess than usual. Jaime silently walked up to the console, waiting for the Doctor to notice her. A few moments later, his green eyes met Jaime's weary ones.

"Ready?" he asked quietly.

Jaime nodded. Without another word, the TARDIS began its journey. She was afraid to speak, thinking she'd melt down if she did. Soon, the silent TARDIS became too much for Jaime to handle.

"Where are Amy and Rory?" she asked meekly.

"They've taken the day off. Oh, they say they're sorry for not being able to see you off."

Jaime nodded. Not once did he move to face her. It was almost like he couldn't bear that she was leaving. She was sad she wouldn't be able to say goodbye to her favorite couple.

She couldn't thank Rory for nursing her back to health. She couldn't thank Amy for being her mother when she had none. But still, Jaime didn't beg to stay. After last night, she knew she blew her chance. It's too late now.

"Where are your things, Jaime?" the Doctor asked.

"I have everything I need. There's nothing here that I want in Colchester with me."

He nodded sadly. Jaime was leaving behind all the things she collected from their times in the TARDIS. For the most part, she was afraid they'd get lost or destroyed at her dad's house. She'd rather have them safe in the TARDIS.

A few seconds later, the TARDIS jerked to a halt. Thankfully, Jaime grabbed the railing before she fell. Silently, the Doctor walked past Jaime and to the TARDIS doors. This angered her and she almost yelled at him to say something.

But she didn't. She knew the Doctor was trying to make this as painless as possible. He opened one of the doors and looked back at Jaime, motioning for her to join him. Heartbroken, Jaime tried not to drag her feet to the door. She stopped next to the Doctor, taking one last look at the place that she started to call home.

"Come along, Jaime." He didn't sound annoyed or impatient like she expected. Instead, he was calm.

He knew how hard this was for her. Jaime sighed shakily and quickly turned to leave before she could get on her knees and beg him to reconsider. She stepped out, waiting for the soft breeze to hit her. It never did. Jaime quickly looked up to see that she wasn't in Colchester at all. She was at the airport.

"Doctor, what are we doing here?"

He didn't answer. Before she could ask again, he nudged her forward gently. The airport was crowded as always, people rushing to get to flights or find their loved ones. None of them paid attention to the blue box.

Jaime scanned the crowd, trying to find out why the Doctor brought her here. She looked until she saw a familiar head of light brown hair, searching for her flight.

"Mum..." She wanted to cry and shout, but no noise came out.

The Doctor leaned towards her ear and whispered, "Go on, Jaime. Go get her."

Taking his advice, Jaime took off at a sprint, weaving through the crowd to reach her mother. "Mum! Mum!" Melanie Woods turned around as Jaime threw herself into her arms, dropping her luggage in the process.

"Jaime! What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, mum! I'm so so sorry."

"Hey, shh, it's alright, love. I forgive you." She wrapped her arms around her daughter's shaking body. Normally, Jaime wouldn't have cried, but she was so relieved that her mother wouldn't die thinking she hated her. The tears couldn't stop.

Melanie started to pull away. "Honey, I need to catch my flight. I can't miss it." Pain filled Jaime's chest as she knew her mum was about to go off to her death. _Time can be rewritten. If I stall her just a little longer..._

"Yeah... of course, you can't miss this."

Melanie pulled away and kissed Jaime's forehead. "Oh. Here, I almost forgot." She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out a hand-sized box with a bow on top. Jaime smiled through her tears.

"You remembered..."

"Course I did! How could I forget my daughter's birthday?"

Jaime felt fresh tears start to fall. Her mother's flight was booked the same day as Jaime's sixteenth birthday. Since she left the house, Melanie never got the chance to give her her present. She grasped the box tightly.

"Jemma, I've had this ever since you came into my life. It's one of the most important things you will ever have in your life. I trust you're old enough to have it now," Melanie said quietly.

Jaime stared down at the box as a few tears fell on the bow. "You're going to miss your plane, mum."

"I'm on my way. Don't burn the house down while I'm away."

Jaime laughed brokenly. "Hey, I'm not _that_ bad of a cook." Melanie laughed and pulled Jaime in for one last hug. Jaime made sure to make it count, seeing as it would be the last hug they'd ever share.

"I've got to go, Jemma." Jaime found it harder to let go this time. It was harder to say goodbye when she knew what came next.

"See you when you get back," she choked.

"Goodbye, sweetie. I'll be home soon." Jaime pulled away this time and Melanie picked up her luggage. She kissed Jaime's forehead with a small smile before walking away.

Before Melanie was out of earshot, Jaime shouted, "I love you!"

Melanie beamed, looking over her shoulder. "I love you, too!"

Once she was gone, Jaime was among the crowd like a lost child. "I love you," she whispered, knowing no one could hear her. Her heart broke with each passing second. She clutched the last gift from her mother tightly, not finding the strength to open it. Then, Jaime did one of the hardest things she would ever do.

She turned around and walked away. She was letting her mother go to her death and there was nothing she could do about it.

As the TARDIS came back into sight, Jaime tried to look strong. The Doctor was comfortably leaning against the TARDIS, letting Jaime have her last moment with her mum. He gave her a concerned look, mentally asking if she was alright.

"I'm fine, let's just go," Jaime said bitterly.

She stiffly walked into the TARDIS and sat on the floor, leaning against the railing. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her eyes were glaring straight ahead in hatred. The Doctor closed the doors and let Jaime sit, stewing in her anger as he flew the TARDIS away.

Jaime was having a hard time of holding in her tears, but kept them concealed, not wanting the Doctor to see her cry again.

"Are you okay, Jaime?" he asked quietly.

"I said I'm fine," she hissed.

Jaime couldn't figure out why she was so angry. She figured she should be sad after just saying goodbye to her mother. Was it because she was told she couldn't save her? Or because she _didn't_ save her?

She rested her elbows on her knees and had to close her eyes from bursting into tears. She started shaking it hurt so much. The Doctor stopped flying the TARDIS and sat next to Jaime, copying her position. "Jaime..."

With one word, she shattered. Her face scrunched up and she started sobbing as quietly as she could. "Oh," the Doctor soothed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He gently rocked her back and forth as she cried into her elbows.

"How could I have done that? I let m-mum go to her death. I didn't stop her! W-Why didn't I stop her?" Jaime cried, sniffing in between words.

"Because you knew it was the right thing to do," he answered calmly.

"But it's not fair! I knew what was going to happen and I didn't stop it!"

The Doctor rested his chin on top of Jaime's head as he whispered soothingly. "Oh, Jaime. There are always going to be people in your life telling you that you have to make the right decision no matter how hard it is. You did it," he grinned.

"Jemma Woods, you got through the hardest decision you've ever had to make and you made the right choice. I couldn't be more proud of you and I know your mum would feel the same. You may feel that you didn't make a difference, but you did. Melanie Woods died knowing how much you loved her."

Jaime's crying calmed down and she wiped her eyes. "It's Jaime."

The Doctor chuckled. "Jemma's rubbish."

Jaime laughed at her own words coming back at her. "I'm sorry for trying to hijack the TARDIS last night."

"Eh, don't worry about it. No damage was done," he brushed it off, patting her back. The Doctor pulled away as Jaime ferociously wiped the remaining tears away. Once she pulled her hands away, she saw a key held up in front of her face.

"I found this lying about and I have no use for it. Fancy hanging onto it for me?" the Doctor asked.

She looked up to see a stupid smile across his face. Hesitantly, she opened her palm to accept the key. She examined it, feeling it around in her hand. It was a spare TARDIS key. Jaime looked up at the Doctor, her eyes widening in shock.

"Do... do you really mean it?"

"You're not going to hold onto it in Colchester, are you?" he asked rhetorically.

Jaime squealed and threw her arms around him. "Oh, my god! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

The Doctor laughed softly and reciprocated the tight hug. "I can stay?" Jaime whispered, almost afraid she was dreaming.

"The TARDIS is your home, Jaime. Why would we make you leave?"

Jaime beamed and hugged him tighter. "Why'd you change your mind?"

"I didn't. Amelia Pond changed my mind."

*** * * ***

Amy Pond and Rory Williams were back in the TARDIS that afternoon. Jaime must've thanked Amy a thousand times for changing the Doctor's mind. They all celebrated Jaime's permanent stay and she couldn't be happier. They were her family and she'd never dream of leaving.

As for the gift her mother gave her, Jaime left it untouched. It was the last thing her mother would ever give her. She couldn't bring herself to open it, so it stayed on her desk. Wrapped, untouched, and unknown to the others. She felt it was better to leave it a secret for now.

Jaime was just starting her new life. She had a dysfunctional family that she loved, she could see the universe at the push of a button and pull of a lever. She had time travel at her fingertips. And she didn't want it any other way.


	5. Amy's Choice (#1)

Life was very peaceful in Leadworth. No aliens rampaged and there was never any danger. It was perfect to Amy and Rory.

Jaime, on the other hand, was losing her mind. There was nothing to do and the only thing remotely exciting was that Amy's baby was due any day.

Jaime moved in with Amy and Rory a couple of years ago, seeing how she decided to often take a break from the TARDIS. She enjoyed being with the Doctor, but everything has its limits. Especially Jaime's patience.

The only thing that she ever found to satisfy her boredom was reading, but even that gets boring after a while. Suddenly, a shout from downstairs made Jaime jump out of her skin. "Roryyy!"

She rolled off her bed and quickly ran downstairs. Jaime ran to find Amy, expecting her to be painfully cradling her swollen stomach. Instead, Amy calmly sat in a chair, scooping cupcake batter into her mouth.

"Again?" Jaime groaned.

"I'm pregnant, give me a break!"

Jaime sighed and turned to leave when Rory ran through the door in a state of panic. Jaime moved before he could run into her and cringed at the sight his God awful ponytail. She was always threatening to cut it off.

Rory fell to his knees in front of Amy. "False alarm," she said nonchalantly.

"What?" He was tired of this as much as Jaime.

"Well, I don't know what it feels like. I've never had a baby before," she replied innocently, feeding Rory a spoonful of batter.

Suddenly, Jaime heard a very familiar whooshing sound. A sound she hasn't heard in a number of years. "No..." Amy whispered.

"I know," Rory groaned. "Leaf blowers. Use a rake!"

"Shh!" Jaime snapped. They all went silent as they realized what the noise was. It was the TARDIS. The Doctor was back.

Rory raced for the door, leaving the girls behind. He ran outside, seeing the TARDIS parked on the flower beds. The Doctor tripped over one of the stones, causing it to fall out of place. "Rory!"

"Doctor!" he greeted, walking out of the house.

"I've cracked your flowers," he pointed out immediately.

"Oh, Amy will kill you."

Jaime grinned and ran out of the house, jumping into the Doctor's arms. He wrapped his arms around her, nearly falling over. "Doctor!"

"Jaime, look at you! You're all grown up." Even though it's been nearly five years, he hadn't changed at all. Perks of being a Time Lord. "Where is Amy?"

"She'll need a bit longer," Jaime giggled. She always made fun of how big Amy was, but Amy didn't care as long as no one else commented on it.

"Whenever you're ready, Amy," the Doctor announced.

Amy came out of the house as fast as she could which made it hard for Jaime to contain her laughter. "You've swallowed a planet!" the Doctor shouted in shock.

Jaime let out an unladylike snort at the oblivious Doctor. "I'm pregnant!" Amy cried happily.

"You're huge!" he ignored, walking up to touch her stomach.

"Yeah, I'm pregnant."

"Look at you! When worlds collide. Oh, look at you all. Five years later and you haven't changed a bit, apart from age and size," he said, quickly hugging Amy.

"It's good to see you, Doctor." Jaime couldn't have been happier in this moment. The whole family was back together and it was as if nothing had changed.

"Are you pregnant?"

*** * * ***

"Ah, Leadworth. Vibrant as ever," the Doctor groaned as they walked through the village.

"Tell me about it," Jaime added. Amy lightly elbowed her in the ribs. She knew how much Jaime hated Leadworth, but it didn't matter. Amy and Rory were happy, so she was happy, too. No matter how bored she got.

"It's Upper Leadworth, actually," Rory corrected. "We've gone slightly upmarket."

"Where is everyone?"

"This is busy," Jaime explained. The Doctor looked at her apologetically. He understood why she would get so bored here.

"Okay, it's quiet," Amy confessed. "But it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their 90's."

"And that's a good thing?" Jaime whispered, but Amy noticed and whacked her arm scoldingly.

Jaime looked up at the old people's home and saw the residents staring at them through their windows. No matter how creepy it was, she chose to ignore it. They stopped at a park bench wide enough for three people. Naturally, Jaime grabbed a seat between the Doctor and Amy, forcing Rory to stand.

"Well, I wanted to see how you were. You know, I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of your old pal the Doctor so easily," he boasted.

"You came here by mistake, didn't you?" Amy guessed.

"...yeah, bit of a mistake. But, look, what a result. Look at this... bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next?" The awkwardness was radiating off the Doctor. He started fidgeting, already bored from sitting. "So... what do you do around here to stave off the... you know..."

"Boredom?" "Self-harm?" Amy and the Doctor asked at the same time.

"You don't," Jaime spoke up. "In a place like this, you're trapped in never ending boredom. No wonder people around here live for so long. They never do anything exciting or... remotely interesting."

"Oi, you!" Amy elbowed her again.

"We relax," Rory corrected. Jaime smiled when the Doctor mouthed, "Relax?" at her. "We live. We listen to the birds."

"Yeah, see? Birds. Those are nice." Amy replied.

Jaime groaned. "Oh, please stop trying to make this God forsaken place enjoyable." The birdsong started getting louder.

"Oh, blimey, my head's a bit..." the Doctor started, rubbing his forehead. "No, you're right. There wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good... old..."

Jaime felt herself dozing off. She thought it was the boredom kicking in. But, this felt stronger than simply falling asleep. She couldn't control herself. Rory fell asleep on the ground as Jaime's head fell on Amy's shoulder. They all felt themselves slowly slip away.

*** * * ***

"Days. What? No. Yes. Sorry, what?"

The Doctor rolled himself up off the TARDIS floor, whipping his head around to find his companions. Amy and Rory came up to the console and Jaime was just waking up from her spot on the floor.

"Oh, you're okay! Oh, thank God! I had a terrible nightmare about you three," the Doctor sighed.

Rory looked around in confusion and Amy felt her flat stomach. Jaime got off the floor, looking around in confusion. "That was scary. Don't ask. You don't want to know," the Doctor added, quickly hugging Amy. "You're safe now. That's what counts. Blimey, never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, you see." The Doctor rambled as Jaime and Amy continued examining themselves.

"Er, Doctor, I also had a kind of dream... thing," Rory confessed.

"Yeah, so did I," Amy said.

"Not a nightmare, though," Jaime added.

"Just... we were married," Rory started.

"Yeah. In a little village."

"A sweet little village and you were pregnant," Rory said carefully, as if he was sounding it out.

"Yes, I was huge. I was a boat! And Jaime, you were really... sassy."

She could only nod. The Jaime in Leadworth was outgoing and sarcastic. Nothing like the one they all knew.

"So, you both had the same dream, then? Exactly the same dream?" Rory asked as the Doctor double checked that his ponytail was gone.

"Are you calling me a boat?" Amy hissed.

"How can we have had exactly the same dream?" Rory asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

"And you had a nightmare about... us," Amy directed towards the Doctor. "What happened to us in the nightmare?"

"It was a bit similar in some aspects," the Doctor replied.

"Which aspects?" Jaime asked.

"Well, all of them."

"You had the same dream?"

"Basically," he confessed.

"You said it was a nightmare," Jaime pointed out.

"Did I say nightmare? No, more of a really good... mare."

Jaime rubbed her head, feeling a massive headache coming on. Suddenly, birdsong started to compete with the Doctor's rambling and all she could do was sit down.

"Doctor, if we're back to reality, how come I can still hear birds?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, the same birds," Rory added. "The same ones we heard in the-"

*** * * ***

"-dream." They were back on the bench in Leadworth. Jaime's head was resting on Amy's shoulder as the Doctor and Rory jumped. "God, I must be overdoing it," Rory groaned, getting to his feet. "I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS."

Jaime sat up as Rory and Amy shared a look. "You just had the same dream, didn't you?"

"Back on the TARDIS, weren't we just saying the same thing?"

"But, we thought this was the dream," Rory stated in confusion.

Jaime stood up and helped the pregnant Amy get to her feet. "Doctor, what is going on?" Rory asked.

"Is this because of you?"

"Listen to me, trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel." Jaime didn't need the Doctor's warning to know something was wrong.

"But we're awake now," Rory insisted.

"Yeah, you thought you were awake on the TARDIS, too."

"But we're home," Amy said.

"Yeah, you're home, you're also dreaming. Trouble is, Amy, Rory, Jaime, which is which?" the Doctor questioned. "Are we flashing forwards... or backwards?" The Doctor started off in a random direction down a street. "Hold on tight... this is going to be a tricky one."

*** * * ***

"This is bad. I don't like this!" the Doctor cried as the TARDIS went haywire. Angrily, he kicked the console, immediately regretting it. He yelped in pain and childishly limped around. "Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case... always use force," he stated angrily.

"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy asked, jumping up from her seat.

"I threw it in a supernova," the Doctor answered as he limped down the stairs to the bottom of the console.

Jaime scoffed. "You threw the manual into a supernova? Why!"

"Because I disagreed with it! Stop talking to me while I'm cross," he shouted.

"Okay... but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future?" Rory asked.

"If we were dreaming of the future," Jaime stated.

"Of course we were. We were in Leadworth. You were living with us," Amy reminded her.

"Upper Leadworth," Rory corrected, earning him an exasperated glare from Amy.

"And we could still be in 'Upper Leadworth', dreaming of this, don't you get it?" the Doctor argued.

"No. Okay, no, this is real," Amy insisted. "I'm definitely awake!"

"And you thought you were awake when you were all... elephant-y."

"Hey! Pregnant."

"You could be giving birth right now. This could be the dream. I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything, look for all the details that don't ring true," he said quickly before snatching a tool from her.

"Okay, we're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside," Rory said, stating the obvious. "Maybe 'what rings true' isn't so simple."

"Valid point," the Doctor agreed. Suddenly, he pushed a button causing the TARDIS to made a sickening noise as everything went black except for the blue glow from the console.

Jaime tensed up and immediately went across the room to Amy's side. She'd always been afraid of the dark even though she knew it was a childish fear. Amy was the only one who understood and quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"It's dead. We're in a dead time machine," explained the Doctor.

This caused Jaime to get more tense as Amy tried her hardest to calm her down. "Hey, hey, Jaime, it's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of," she whispered like a professional mother. Jaime knew that was a lie and so did Amy. Their only transportation was dead. There was everything to be afraid of.

Suddenly, the birdsong returned, giving Jaime another terrible headache. "Remember— this is real. When we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It is real. I know it's real," Amy insisted. Jaime slipped away from her arms as she fell on the floor, the others joining a few seconds later.

*** * * ***

"Okay. This is the real one," Amy decided. "Definitely this one. It's all solid."

"Oh, will you stop that! We get it, they both feel real," Jaime snapped.

"Jaime's right. It felt solid in the TARDIS, too," the Doctor agreed. "You can't spot a dream while you're having it." He started ridiculously waving his hand in front of his face.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Looking for motion blur, pixilation. It could be a computer simulation." He pulled Rory's cheeks as a final inspection. "I don't think so, though."

An old lady slowly started walking by them, giving a sweet smile to Rory. "Hello, Doctor." she said as Rory smiled back.

"Hello." "Hi." the Doctor and Rory both replied. Jaime smirked as the woman gave the Doctor a weird look before continuing down the road. "You're a doctor?"

"Yeah. And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams," Rory preened.

"A doctor, not a nurse. Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting," the Doctor voiced his thoughts as he took long strides down the empty street.

"What is?" Rory asked.

"Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby. Maybe this is your dream."

"It's Amy's dream, too. Isn't it, Amy?"

"Yes. Course it is, yeah," she replied too quickly. Her nervous laugh didn't support her case. Jaime felt sorry for Rory. This was everything he ever wanted, but it wasn't what the love of his life wanted.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked, pointing behind him.

"Old people's home."

They looked up to see the old people once again staring at them through the windows. "You said everyone here lives to their 90's. There's something that doesn't make sense... let's go and poke it with a stick." Then he took off running into the building.

Jaime was uncomfortable when they entered the old people's home. Not because they were staring, she just wanted to leave. She never liked old people's homes. Mostly because she feared that one day, she'd end up in one herself.

Rory led them all into one room where he was greeted by voices all around. "Oh, hello, Dr. Williams." "Hello, Rory, love." Jaime groaned inwardly and ignored them the best she could. Instead, she directed her attention towards Amy and making sure she made it inside all right.

"Who's your friend? A junior doctor?" one of the old women asked Rory.

"Yes," Rory replied hesitantly.

"Can I borrow you?" she asked the Doctor. "You're the size of my grandson."

Jaime giggled as the Doctor obliged, allowing the woman to put the jumper she was knitting over his head. He looked absolutely ridiculous in the ugly thing. Suddenly, he leaned forward until he and the old woman were almost nose to nose.

"You're incredibly old, aren't you?" he asked as if it was a normal conversation starter. Jaime snorted as the other elders shared glances and glared his way. If they only knew just how old he was. Jaime felt her headache return as the birdsong returned. It almost seemed to be getting louder each time...

*** * * ***

Jaime was hugging herself tightly, trying to overcome her fear of the dark. The temperature seemed to have dropped drastically in the TARDIS. "Okay, I hate this, Doctor. Stop it," Amy threatened. "Because this is definitely real, it's definitely this one, I keep saying that, don't I?"

"It's bloody cold," Rory complained.

"I knew I shouldn't have worn a dress," Jaime grumbled.

"The heating's off," the Doctor called as he ran up the stairs. "Put on a jumper. That's what I always do."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about Mrs. Poggit," Rory apologized. "She's so lovely, though."

The Doctor peeked out through a small window and said, "Oh, I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you."

"What do you mean 'act'?" asked Amy, the Doctor ignoring her as usual.

"Everything's off. Sensors, core power, we're drifting," he said as he came back down the stairs. "The scanner's down, so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere. Someone, something is overriding my controls," he exclaimed angrily.

"Well, that took a while," said an unknown voice. Everyone whipped around to see a short, older man at the top of the stairs. He wore the same clothes as the Doctor, including the bowtie. He didn't look very pleasant. "Honestly, I'd heard such good things. 'Last of the Time Lords', 'The Oncoming Storm'... 'Him in the bowtie'," he mocked.

"How did you get into my TARDIS?" the Doctor asked dangerously. "What are you?"

"What shall we call me?" he pondered. "Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord."

"Nice look," the Doctor vaguely complimented.

"This? No, I'm not convinced. Bowties?" Jaime crept closer to Amy who gingerly grabbed her hand.

The Doctor slowly grabbed something from inside his jacket before launching it at the Dream Lord, only to fly through him. He wasn't a real person. "I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord... it's in the name, isn't it? Spooky, not quite there," he said before teleporting behind Amy, Rory and Jaime. "And yet, very much here."

"I'll do the talking, thank you," spat the Doctor. "Amy, want to take a guess at what... that is?"

Jaime straightened as Amy pulled her closer. "Um, Dream Lord. He creates dreams."

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks," the Doctor added.

"And what about the gooseberry here?" the Dream Lord nodded towards Rory. "Does he get a guess? Or maybe the little one?"

Jaime stiffened when she realized he noticed her. Thankfully, Rory spoke up. "Listen, mate, if anyone's the gooseberry around here, it's the Doctor."

"Well, now. There's a delusion I'm not responsible for,"he said, smiling in a sickly manner.

"No, he is. Isn't he, Amy?" Rory said to gain back his confidence.

"Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out. Choose, even."

"I have chosen. Of course, I've chosen," she spat. Rory looked around nervously, holding a breath he didn't know he was holding. Amy whacked his chest. "It's you, stupid."

Rory let out his breath. "Oh, good. Thanks."

The Dream Lord teleported to the other side, causing Jaime to flinch. "You can't fool me. I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice, Amy. Blimey! I'd blush... if I had a blood supply. Or a real face."

The Doctor stepped forward, examining the Dream Lord more. "Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?"

"Me? Oh, you're on shaky ground. If you had any more tawdry quirks, you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop," the Dream Lord mocked. "The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student... I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog, just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are."

Jaime tightened her grip on Amy's hand with each nasty word. Suddenly, he teleported to the upper level.

"So here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here in the time machine and there in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face in both worlds, a deadly danger, but only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet! Time to sleep."

The birdsong came back as Jaime slipped out of Amy's grip. "Oh... or are you waking up?"

*** * * ***

Jaime jumped awake with the others back in the old people's home. She quickly helped pregnant Amy stand as the Dream Lord came into the room holding an x-ray. He was now wearing a dark blue suit and a pair of glasses.

"Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad. Look at this x-ray." He held it up to his face. "Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."

"Always? What do you mean 'always'?" Jaime asked.

"Oh, a bit more confident here, are we? Is that what a place like this does to people?" he sneered, causing Jaime to stiffen. "Now, then. The prognosis is this. If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time," he continued. "Ask me what happens if you die in reality."

"What happens?" asked Rory, causing Jaime to whack his arm.

"You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality," answered the Dream Lord snidely.

"Have you met the Doctor before? Do you know him?" asked Amy.

"Now, don't get jealous. He's been around, our boy. But, never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning," the Dream Lord directed before disappearing.

"Okay. I don't like him," Rory concluded.

"Feeling's mutual," growled Jaime.

"Who is he?" Amy asked.

"I don't know. Maybe because he has no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel," the Doctor concluded, taking off the jumper he didn't realize he was still wearing.

"What does he mean, 'deadly danger'? Nothing deadly has ever happened here. I mean, a bit of natural wastage, obviously," said Rory.

"They've all gone." That's when they all noticed that all of the old people were gone. The Doctor ran from the room, Jaime and Rory close behind as Amy tried to keep up. Jaime stopped beside the Doctor outside, seeing children leave a playground and move up to look at an old fortress.

The Doctor moved for the fortress when Rory and Amy finally came outside. "Why would they leave?" asked Rory. "And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's 'nice old lady act'?"

"One of my tawdry quirks," the Doctor mocked. "Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So, come on. Let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in, time asleep exactly matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams."

"And we're all dreaming the same dream at the same time," concluded Rory.

"Wasn't this already established?" Jaime groaned.

"Sort of communal trance, very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway, a tell. But my mind isn't working because this village... is so... dull!" Jaime smirked. The Doctor finally understood her pain. "I'm slowing down, like you three have."

Amy gasped in pain. Jaime whirled around to see her clutching her stomach. No, not now. "Ow. Really." She started screaming and clutched the Doctor's arm. "It's coming!" Jaime grabbed her arm as the Doctor and Rory started panicking.

"Okay, you're a doctor, help her," the Doctor ordered Rory.

"You're a doctor!"

"It's okay, we're doctors," he said before crouching in front of Amy as she yelled in pain. "What do we do?"

Amy groaned until she straightened. "Okay, it's not coming."

"What?" the Doctor asked, looking surprised.

"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet," Amy spoke in her scary, angry mother voice. "So, don't you call it dull again, ever. Okay?"

"Sorry," he whispered meekly. Amy strut to the playground and Jaime followed, offering a silent high-five which Amy accepted. Amy "angrily" sat on an empty swing as Jaime crossed her arms, leaning against the pole. The Doctor took the other swing before Rory could, forcing him to stand.

"Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room," the Doctor started, mindlessly swinging.

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby," Amy hissed.

"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail?"

Jaime groaned as if in physical pain. She hated that thing growing on the back of Rory's head. The Doctor gave her a fond look when he noticed her distress. "You hold him down, I'll cut it off?" She laughed and even Amy couldn't hold in her laughter.

"This from the man in the bowtie," Rory shot back.

"Bowties are cool," the Doctor said cooly before jumping off his swing. He looked towards the rock fortress where the children were playing. But what concerned him wasn't the children. It was Mrs. Poggit standing calmly at the entrance, looking like an animal stalking its prey.

"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. Poggit as a babysitter." She certainly didn't look like the nice old lady like before. Before they could think, the birdsong started again.

"Oh, no. Here we go," Amy sighed in exasperation.

*** * * ***

The TARDIS temperatures seemed to have dropped even further. When Amy ran to find warmer clothing, Rory followed behind as the Doctor rummaged through some things underneath the console. Jaime decided to sit down on the steps that led to the upper level. She was furiously rubbing her arms in a pathetic attempt to get warm. She felt her joints stiffening from the cold.

She heard Amy and Rory talking about what world they wanted to be reality. Rory obviously wanted Leadworth, but Amy seemed indecisive.

Jaime didn't know what she wanted. Leadworth was... nice, but far too boring for her. Just because she was shy didn't mean she didn't want to go on adventures. She loved living with Amy and Rory, but how long would they put up with her?

The Doctor was a different story. She loved being in the TARDIS, but it was almost always dangerous. Something bad was always on the verge of happening. But that wasn't her choice to make.

Amy came up the steps and placed a blanket around Jaime's shoulders. "Hey, are you okay?" She nodded stiffly. She gave a weak smile to try and prove that she was fine.

The Doctor came back up the console with some weird machine that he made. He started having Amy and Rory do things, but Jaime was too out of it to pay attention.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the Doctor got the scanner working again. Outside was a beautiful galaxy with blue streaks and hues. "We're in trouble."

"What... is that?" Rory asked as a big blue ball appeared on the scanner.

"A star. A cold star." The Doctor ran up to the doors and threw them open, causing a blast of cold air to fill the room. "That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction," he shouted over the wind. "We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality."

He quickly slammed the doors shut and ran back to the console. "So, this must be the dream. There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn," Amy shivered.

"So's this one. It's just burning cold."

"Is that possible?" Rory whined.

The Doctor groaned. "I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always?"

"Okay, this is something you haven't seen before. So, does that mean this is the dream?" Rory asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor enunciated. "But, there it is and I'd say we've got about fourteen minutes until we crash into it. But, that's not a problem."

"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Rory asked hopefully.

"Because we'll have frozen to death."

"Then what are we going to do?" Jaime asked, teeth chattering.

"Stay calm. Don't get sucked into it because this just might be the battle we have to lose."

"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory said snidely. "A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day, huh? I just wanted a nice village and a family."

"Oh, dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks."

Jaime stiffened. The Dream Lord was back. "There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and-" The birdsong cut him off. "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there or you'll, um... catch your death here."

*** * * ***

The Doctor ran up the stairs that led to the inside of the fortress. "Where have the children gone?"

"Don't know. Playtime's probably over," Rory answered.

The area was completely deserted, but the children left all their toys. Next to each set of toys was a perfectly even pile of sand. It looked set up on purpose. The Doctor started scanning each pile of sand as the other three joined him.

"What about you, Jaime?" Amy called.

She turned around, feeling like she would get whiplash. "Sorry?"

"Where do you feel it?" Rory requestioned. "Which dream feels the most real to you?"

He looked like he was praying Jaime would say Leadworth. She could care less right now, but she didn't want to upset anyone because of her attitude.

"I don't know. I just want it all to be over," she answered truthfully.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Amy asked, also fed up with Rory's obsession with Leadworth. "And what are those piles of dust?"

"Playtime's definitely over," he said grimly.

Jaime knew the sand was piled too evenly. "Oh, my God," she whispered horrified.

"What happened to them?" Rory asked.

Before he got his answer, the Doctor noticed a large group of old people coming down the road. They all looked like they were hypnotized. "I think they did."

"They're just old people," said Amy.

"No. They're very old people. Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive," said the Doctor as he ran down to meet the crowd. Every old person faced the Doctor as he came from the castle. Jaime tensed when she saw them all staring with emotionless eyes.

"Hello, peasants!" Once again, the Dream Lord was back. "What's this? Attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to bed the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Jaime?" She flinched and tried to hold her ground.

"Leave her alone," the Doctor growled.

"Do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall, dark hero, 'Leave her alone'!"

"Just leave her!" Rory cried. Jaime backed up slowly until she was directly in front of Amy. She reached her hand back slowly, and Amy grasped it without hesitation.

"Yes, you're not quite so impressive. But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up! Just shut up and leave us alone," Amy snapped.

"But listen, you're in there. Loves a redhead, our naughty Doctor. Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well, she thought she was the first..."

"Drop it, all of it. I know who you are," the Doctor interrupted.

"Course you don't."

"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."

The Dream Lord gave a sly grin. "Never mind me. Maybe you should worry about them," he said before disappearing. Jaime moved beside Amy when the old people started walking until they were right in front of them. Mrs. Poggit was in the front.

"Hello! We were wondering where you went," the Doctor told them. "To get reinforcements, by the look of it. Are you all right? You look a bit tense."

"Hello, Mr. Nainby," Rory greeted one of the men walking up to him. "Mr. Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the old free toffee," he bragged. Suddenly, Mr. Nainby lifted Rory up by his collar and threw him onto the ground. No old man should have that much strength. "How did he do that?!"

"I suspect he's not himself. Don't get comfortable, you may have to run. Fast."

Amy groaned at the thought of running. "Can't we just talk to them?" The old people, including Mr. Nainby, all opened their mouths to reveal a large green eye. "There is an eye in her mouth," Amy stated in disbelief.

"There's a whole creature inside her," the Doctor concluded after a quick scan with the sonic. "Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."

"That is disgusting! They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?" Rory asked, earning an elbow to the ribs from Jaime. Mrs. Poggit stepped forward as the eye expelled a green gas from her mouth.

"Okay, leave them, talk to me!" the Doctor shouted, pushing his companions away and staying to talk to the creatures inside the people. Before she could protest, Amy was pulled away by Rory and quickly grabbed Jaime's hand.

They escaped out the back of the park and started running back to the cottage. Jaime was worried about the Doctor being alone. She didn't need to watch Amy, she had Rory. It'd be better if they divided up evenly. She tugged her hand from Amy's grasp. "You two, go back to the cottage. The Doctor and I will meet you there."

"He can handle himself, Jaime! Come back with us!" Amy begged.

"I can handle myself, just get inside!" she cried before running away. Rory called after her, but she ignored him and ran back to the Doctor.


	6. Amy's Choice (#2)

Jaime was running down the street when she saw the old people following the Doctor. Suddenly, the birdsong started again and Jaime had to force herself to stay awake. With all of her willpower, she ran to the Doctor as he started to walk sideways down the street. He was also struggling to stay awake.

"Doctor!" Jaime shouted as she was finally at his side. She tried not to collapse against him as they made their way down the street.

"Jemma-!" She knew he was trying to tell her off for following him, but he decided to save his strength. He looked up and saw that the butcher's was the closest shop. He pulled Jaime in as best as he could and attempted to lock the door.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you? We've got to use these places or they'll shut down," the Dream Lord spoke from behind the counter.

The Doctor ignored him and tried to open up one of the storage rooms for protection. "Oh, but you're probably a vegetarian, aren't you, you big, flop-haired wuss," the Dream Lord spat.

"Oh, pipe down. I'm busy," the Doctor retorted.

"Maybe you need a little sleep." The birdsong returned and Jaime fell onto the floor beside the Doctor. "Oh, wait a moment," the Dream Lord whispered as the painful noise ceased. "If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye thingies."

The Doctor pulled Jaime up and down a short hallway behind the counter. The birdsong got louder than before and Jaime braced herself against the wall. "Come in, come in!" the Dream Lord called out to the old people finding their way into the store.

The Doctor quickly jumped up and ran to the last storage door. The old people started to fill the hallway as Jaime backed against the wall. The Doctor quickly opened one of the storage rooms, pulling her inside. As soon as the door locked, they both fell asleep.

*** * * ***

"Ah, it's colder," Amy shivered, wrapping herself in a blanket. Jaime scooted in closer to keep what little body heat she had left.

The Doctor sat up, tugging his blazer around himself tighter. "The four of us have to agree, now, which is the dream."

"It's this, here," Rory decided.

"He could be right. The science is all wrong here. Burning ice?" Amy pointed out.

"No, no, no. Ice can burn, sofas can read— it's a big universe. We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now."

"Okay, which world do you think is real?" Amy asked him.

"This one," said the Doctor. "No, the other one," Rory whined.

"Are you two just disagreeing or competing for the favorite?" Jaime blurted out angrily.

"Competing?" Amy asked as the Doctor and Rory suddenly looked shy. Amy sighed and stood up from the floor.

"Nine minutes till impact," the Doctor announced, jumping up.

"What temperature is it?"

"Outside? How many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know, but I can't feel my feet and... other parts."

"I think all my parts are basically fine," Rory glared.

"Oi, you two!" Jaime snapped. She was fed up with the men fighting. She ignored their bickering and walked over to Amy who was cutting holes in the blankets, making them into ponchos. She slipped one over Jaime's head before throwing two at the boys. "Put these on, both of you."

"Oh, a poncho. The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen," Rory criticized.

"Here we go! Pond and her boys... my poncho boys. If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."

Jaime looked at the scanner to see they were getting closer to the cold star. "We're not gonna die," Rory said as calmly as possible.

"No, we're not. But our time's running out. If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble." The Doctor started pacing around the console in deep thought. "If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world. But the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds... why, why, what's the logic?"

"Good idea, veggie," said the Dream Lord, dressed in his own poncho. "Let's divide you four up, so I can have a little chat with our lovely companions," he said, eyeing the girls. "Maybe I'll keep them and you can have Pointy Nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."

Jaime was properly scared. Not only were the Doctor and Rory leaving, but she was going to be stuck with the Dream Lord. "Can you hear that?" Rory asked Amy.

"What? No." The Doctor sleepily walked up to the two girls. "Amy, Jemma, don't be scared. We'll be back." He quickly kissed Jaime on the forehead before falling asleep with Rory.

"Rory, Doctor, don't leave us," Amy begged, comfortingly wrapping an arm around Jaime.

"Amy and Jemma... we're going to have fun, aren't we?" the Dream Lord asked.

*** * * ***

Rory woke up with Amy asleep beside him. The old people were breaking the windows, trying to get inside. He quickly grabbed Amy and pulled her up the stairs, apologizing with every bump. He laid her down on the floor of the baby's room and barricaded the door as best as he could.

*** * * ***

The Doctor leaned his ear against the storage door to hear the newly discovered Eknodines inside the old people screeching. He pulled an unconscious Jaime to her feet and held her up with one arm. He quickly opened the door and sonicked the light, causing sparks to fly.

As the Eknodines were distracted, he picked up Jaime and ran out of the butcher's. Thankfully, she barely weighed a thing. In the street, a man was yelling for help from his camper van as an Eknodine was trying to get in.

"Oh, you couldn't live near the shops, could you?" the Doctor grumbled. He ran up to the van, pushing the Eknodine off as best as he could with one arm. "It's okay, it's only me," he called to the man. He opened the driver's door and passed Jaime to the man, putting her in the passenger's seat as he hopped out.

The Doctor drove the van off as Jaime bounced along lifelessly in the passenger's seat, seeming alright for the most part. The Doctor could only hope that her and Amy were alright in the frozen TARDIS.

*** * * ***

The TARDIS had gathered a fine layer of frost inside. Amy held a shivering Jaime under her arm, sitting on the steps when the Dream Lord appeared on the step in front of them. "Poor Amy. He always leaves you, doesn't he?" he asked, motioning to the unconscious Doctor on the floor. "Never apologizes."

"He doesn't have to," Jaime spoke up, standing up to get away from the creepy man. If you could even call him a man.

"That's good... because he never will. To either of you. And now he's left you with me. Spooky, old, not-to-be trusted me."

"What do you want?" Jaime questioned.

"The Doctor knows you, but he's not telling me who you are," Amy added, "And he always does. Takes him a while sometimes, but he tells me. So, you're something different."

"Oh, is that who you think you are? The ones he trusts?"

"Yes, actually," Amy hissed.

"The only girls in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?" he asked rudely.

"Yes," Jaime replied.

"So, what's his name? You tried to get him to tell you, Jemma, but he never gave in."

"Everyone has their secrets."

The Dream Lord chuckled darkly, making Jaime think she wasn't as special to the Doctor as she thought. "The Doctor didn't want you to see your mother, did he?"

Jaime's breath hitched. Melanie was still a touchy subject. She didn't need this creep bringing back painful memories. "He thought you'd make the wrong decision and try to save her."

"Shut it! He trusted me enough to let me see her. He knows he can trust me to make the right decision."

The Dream Lord smirked. "This coming from the girl who tried to steal his time machine."

He teleported before she could answer, appearing next to the unconscious Doctor and Rory. "Now, Amy. Which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero. Would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail?"

"Stop it," she snapped.

"And what about Jaime? She's a part of this, too. You were the one who found her, sick and pitiful. She owes you her life. All the Doctor ever did was... give her the universe. Does she get to decide where she wants to go?"

"Amy, don't listen to him. You choose what you want, not me," Jaime insisted.

"Do you really want to let her down? Take away her family or all of time and space. Pick a world and this nightmare will all be over. They'll listen to you. It's you they're waiting for. Amy's men. Amy's choice."

The Dream Lord teleported away, leaving the girls alone. "Don't worry about me, Amy. I'm alright with whatever you choose," Jaime spoke up.

Amy laughed sourly. "No, you're not. You hate Leadworth. I know you, Jaime. There is no way you'd give up the TARDIS for that kind of life."

*** * * ***

The Doctor sped down the road, searching for Amy and Rory's house, and Jaime was still unconscious in the passenger seat. The Dream Lord appeared in the backseat wearing an orange suit.

"It's make-your-mind-up time. In both worlds."

"Bye. I need to find my friends," the Doctor brushed off.

"Friends? Is that the right word for the people you acquire? Friends are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they've grown up. The old man prefers the company of the young, does he not?"

The Dream Lord disappeared and the Doctor continued to drive on. Suddenly, Jaime groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Jemma Woods! Perfect timing!"

"What happened?" she asked groggily.

"Oh, you know. Just the usual."

*** * * ***

Amy woke up to hear banging outside the house, her head laying in Rory's lap. "How did I get up here?"

"I carried you. I'm afraid you may experience some bruising," he answered hesitantly as he helped her sit up.

"Where's the Doctor? And Jaime?"

"I don't know. I want to do something for you." Rory reached for a pencil bag behind him and pulled out a pair of scissors. Amy gave him a wide-eyed look as he took deep breath. She put a hand over her mouth as he brought the scissors to the back of his head and chopped off the ponytail.

Suddenly, the window squeaked open behind them. "Oh, thank God that atrocity is gone!"

Jaime climbed onto the floor, the Doctor following. "Sorry, had to stop off at the butcher's."

The Doctor fell through the window, narrowly avoiding squashing Jaime. "What are we going to do?" Rory questioned.

"I don't know. I thought the freezing TARDIS was real, but now I'm not so sure."

Amy gasped sharply. "Oh! I think the baby's starting."

"Honestly?" Rory asked.

"Would I make it up at a time like this?!"

"Well, you do have a history of dramatically overreacting," Jaime confessed.

"Only you can get away with that," Amy whispered before crying out in pain.

"Why are they so desperate to kill us?!" Rory shouted as the Eknodines kept pounding on the house outside.

"They're scared. Fear generates savagery." Suddenly, a stone statue was thrown through the opposite window. Rory walked over to examine it as Amy turned to face Jaime.

Her eyebrows narrowed in confusion when she followed the young girl's gaze to the window. Before she could say anything, Mrs. Poggit leaned inside from the ladder she stood on, shooting green gas at Rory and sending him reeling back.

"Rory!" Amy cried. The Doctor grabbed a lamp and pushed Mrs. Poggit away from the window. Rory leaned against the desk with Amy squeezing his hand, Jaime still staring at them in frozen shock.

"No! I'm not ready!" he cried in fear. But it was too late. "Look after our baby," he whispered before he completely turned to a pile of dust. Just like the children at the playground.

"No... no. Come back," Amy whispered. "Save him," she ordered the Doctor. "You save everyone. You always do. It's what you do."

"Not always. I'm sorry," he replied in a strained voice.

"Then what is the point of you?" Amy spat with venom in her words, grief written all over her face. Jaime cleared her throat, but the lump stayed.

"Amy-"

"You don't get to speak," Amy hissed, startling Jaime. "You let him go. You saw Mrs. Poggit, but you didn't stop him. Did you let this happen so I wouldn't choose Leadworth? Are you happy now?"

"N-No, I'd never... Amy, I tried to stop him."

Amy gave her a deep glare that sent her shrinking back. "Jemma Woods, you'd better shut your mouth if you know what's best for you," she snapped. Amy got to her feet quickly for a pregnant woman. "This is the dream. Definitely, this one," she confirmed. "Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded solemnly. "Unless we just die."

"Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again," she said, throwing a murderous glare at Jaime who cowered by the wall. "This is the dream."

"How do you know?" the Doctor asked.

"Because if this is real life, I don't want it." Amy, expressionless, stormed past Jaime, heading for the front door.

The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jaime, she didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay," she choked. "I deserved that. She had every right to say that." She walked out the door, not wanting the Doctor's pity.

Amy stormed past all of the old people who ceased beating against her house. "Why aren't they attacking!" Amy shouted angrily.

The Doctor ran to keep up with her as Jaime kept back. "Either because this is just a dream or because they know what we're about to do."

Amy stopped in front of the camper van and turned to get the keys from the Doctor. "Be very sure. This could be the real world," he warned.

"It can't be. Rory isn't here," she said, tears running down her face. "I didn't know. I didn't, I honestly didn't, till right now. I just want him."

The Doctor nodded and handed over the keys. "Okay." Jaime climbed into the empty spot between the driver's and passenger's seat.

Amy and the Doctor climbed in next to her, Jaime nervously avoided Amy's gaze. "I loved Rory and I never told him. And now he's gone." Amy revved the engine and took off towards the cottage. They flattened the fence and Jaime shut her eyes as they collided with the front door.

*** * * ***

A thick layer of frost covered the interior of the TARDIS. Jaime opened her eyes, relieved to discover that she was alive even if she felt close to death. She slowly turned her head to also see Rory alive, much to her happiness. They all survived. The hellish nightmare was over.

"So. You chose this world. Well done. You got it right," the Dream Lord sneered. "And with only seconds left. Fair's fair. Let's warm you up."

Suddenly, the TARDIS sparked back to life and started thawing out. "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that." Jaime couldn't move as she felt the Dream Lord step over her frozen body. "I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell."

And with that, the Dream Lord disappeared for the last time. Jaime sat up as best as she could, watching Amy hug Rory. Suddenly, a loud boom came from the TARDIS as the engines started up. The Doctor was already working away at the console.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked.

"Me? I'm going to blow up the TARDIS."

"What?!"

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was. Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice and I could have done without the limerick. But he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality." A large bang was heard and the Doctor started to laugh.

"What are you doing?!" Jaime cried out in fear.

"Doctor, the Dream Lord conceded. This isn't the dream!" Rory yelled.

"Yes, it is!"

"Stop him!" Amy cried.

"Star burning cold? Do me a favor!" he shouted, pushing away Rory's hand. "The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams."

"How do you know that?" Amy asked.

"Because I know who he is," the Doctor replied simply. He pressed one last button, setting off the biggest explosion yet.

*** * * ***

"Any questions?"

Rory let out a laugh of disbelief. Jaime walked in from the other side, flinching when she saw Amy. She was trying her hardest to forget what happened, but how could she? Amy had never lashed out at her before. She was familiar with verbal abuse from her father, but Amy was a different story.

Amy didn't notice her and walked down to the console where the Doctor was examining something small in the palm of his hand. "What's that?"

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages," he explained simply. "Fell in the time rotor, heated up, and induced a dream state for all of us."

The Doctor opened the outside door, blowing away the specks in his hand. Jaime slowly walked up to the console, but on the opposite side of Amy.

"So, that was the Dream Lord, then? Those little specks?" Rory asked.

"No, no. No, sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you. Gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm 907. It had a lot to go on."

"But why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy asked.

"The darkness in you three? It would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care," the Doctor said, throwing a wink at Jaime. He knew she was still upset about what happened in Leadworth. "Otherwise, I'm stuck with my own company and you know how that works out."

"But those things he said about you. You don't think any of that's true?" Amy asked. The Doctor couldn't answer her.

"Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory. And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention," he said, pushing Amy towards her fiancé.

"Yeah," Rory agreed. "Actually, yeah. Cause what I don't get is you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?"

Jaime cringed as a wave of guilt hit her. Amy cleared her throat. "We crashed the camper van."

"Oh, right. I don't remember that bit."

"No, you weren't there. You were already..."

"Already what?"

"...dead. You died in that dream. Mrs. Poggit got you."

"O-kay. But how did you know it was a dream? Before you crashed the van. How did you know you wouldn't just die?"

"... I didn't."

"Oh..."

Jaime couldn't take it anymore. She snuck out of the room when they started kissing, the Doctor watching her sadly. 900 years of time and space and he still had problems with domestics. He let her go this time, but he couldn't stand to see her upset forever.

*** * * ***

The Doctor was worried about Jaime. Ever since the incident with the Dream Lord, she seemed to be distancing herself. She mostly seemed to be afraid of Amy. Yes, Rory was alive and Amy couldn't be happier. But Jaime still blamed herself for not trying to save him.

Amy didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong. She didn't have a care in the world once the whole dream fiasco ended. Still, Jaime was scared to even look at her.

Jaime was sitting on her bed one day, reading away. She was so caught up in it that she didn't notice her door opening. "Hey, kiddo!"

She jumped once she recognized Amy's voice. She slammed her book shut and sat up quickly. Amy was wearing a pair of short shorts and a brown leather jacket. She wasn't glaring at Jaime like she expected.

"The Doctor says he's _finally_ gonna take us to Rio! Come on, get dressed!" Amy said excitedly. It was as if she forgot the whole thing with Rory.

"Er, I... think I'm gonna sit this one out," Jaime said quietly.

Amy stopped her excitement and looked at her suspiciously. "Okay, what's up?"

"Huh?" Jaime replied stupidly.

"You _never_ skip out on a trip. Obviously, something's bothering you. So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jaime said too quickly. Amy gave her another look that said 'I know you're lying'. "I'm just... not feeling good."

"Hmmm, you look fine to me," she observed, sitting on the bed.

"No, really. My stomach's killing me. It's because of... you know." Jaime inwardly cringed at what she was implying.

Amy nodded, but still looked like she didn't believe her. "Well, feel better," she said sarcastically. She got off the side of the bed and soon left the room.

Jaime felt bad for lying, but she really didn't want to go on a trip right now. She just wanted to take a day off. No aliens, no running, no danger. Even if it's just Rio, she knew something bad was bound to happen. I mean, they're with the Doctor, for God's sake.

A few minutes later, Jaime poked her head out her door. The corridor was empty, and the only sound to be heard was the gentle hum of the TARDIS. She let out a sigh of relief. She felt lazy from laying around all day, so she decided to explore.

Over the last five months, Jaime hadn't had time to do much exploring in the TARDIS. She knew where the basic rooms were, such as the bedrooms, kitchen, and console room. But what else was there?

Jaime almost felt guilty for looking around the Doctor's ship. What if she ran into something she wasn't supposed to see? Well, it's not as if the Doctor is here to stop her.

She opened one door to find a storage room. _Nothing to see here_. She poked around a bit, quite mesmerized by everything. She couldn't explain what most of it was, but it was very fascinating. Jaime ended up finding the frequently mentioned swimming pool. It was bigger than any pool she'd ever seen.

Over the time the Doctor, Amy, and Rory were off on an adventure, Jaime found the garden, ice skating rink, and even more bedrooms. It was entertaining enough, but she became worried about getting lost. The Doctor _did_ say the TARDIS was infinite.

She opened another door and gasped at the sight. She had found the library. And _boy_, was it impressive. It had multiple levels and what looked like thousands of bookshelves. Balconies were on each floor, looking back to the main floor. She was going to have fun here.

Jaime didn't know where to start! The room itself was enchanting to stare at. She strolled over to a bookshelf, not a layer of dust in sight. She'd always been a big reader. She loved popular series like _Lord of the Rings_ and _Percy Jackson_.

She grabbed a book off the shelf and sat down on a sofa along the wall. She had no idea how much time she spent reading. It felt like she spent less time exploring. But that's the beauty of reading, isn't it?

Suddenly, Jaime heard the TARDIS start up. The Doctor must be back. Almost immediately, Jaime fell flat on the floor. Something was wrong. The TARDIS was definitely moving, but it felt like they were being pulled down.

Jaime stuck her head out the library door and heard yelling come from down the hall. She matched the voice to the Doctor. As best as she could as the TARDIS rocked, she ran down to the console room. There, the Doctor was in a state of panic. "Doctor, what's going on?!"

"Jaime! Almost forgot you were here!"

She scowled at him. Jaime noticed he brought along an older woman with black hair. "Who's she?" she shouted over the loud noise.

"Oh, um... Jaime, Nasreen. Nasreen, Jaime."

Nasreen smiled as best as she could, also looking panicked by what was happening. Jaime ran down the steps to the console and grabbed onto the railing. "What did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything! We've been hijacked, I can't stop it! They must've sensed the electromagnetic field!"

"They? Who's they?!"

He ignored her and grabbed the scanner. "They're pulling the TARDIS down into the earth!"

The TARDIS landed with a thud, sending them all to the floor. The loud noises of distress ceased and Jaime let out a sigh of relief. Nasreen spoke, "Where are we?"

The Doctor grinned and jumped off the floor. They ran to the door, but the Doctor stopped before stepping out. "Never too late to join," he said to Jaime who stood awkwardly by the console.

"Er... no thanks. I'm good," she replied, smiling without faltering. "I discovered the library and just started a book and... yeah."

The Doctor nodded before letting himself and Nasreen out. Jaime sighed before dragging her feet back to the library. She felt stupid for turning down an adventure. It wasn't all because of Amy, was it?

Amy became her older sister. Was all of that gone because of one argument? Over Rory? Truth be told, she didn't blame Amy one bit for yelling at her. She'd always been a disappointment. Why should things be different now?

* * * *

Jaime tried her hardest to finish her book. When that didn't work, she tried to find a book that'd keep her attention. Her mind was too occupied with upsetting thoughts. She left the library, looking for something else to do. Jaime came across a few other rooms such as the observatory and even an art gallery.

Eventually, she found her way back to her room. She didn't know when the Doctor, Amy, and Rory would be back. Jaime caught sight of herself in her full length mirror. She'd always been insecure about her looks. She used to hate how pudgy she looked.

Now she was skinny. Too skinny. Her arms looked boney and her cheek bones were sharp. Her legs looked like twigs and her hair was frizzy. _Why would they ever take in someone who looks as pitiful as me?_ These thoughts tend to haunt Jaime on a regular basis. Never being perfect, always having too many flaws to count.

Her eyes welled up with tears as she turned her mirror around. She couldn't bear to look at herself anymore. Jaime threw herself onto her bed, ashamed of herself for crying. She wanted nothing more than to be happy with herself. Was that too much to ask for?

Suddenly, voices came from the hallway. They must be people the Doctor picked up. Jaime crawled out of bed and hesitantly opened the door. Outside, she saw a small family of a husband, wife, and son. They all looked very confused.

The woman turned and jumped when she saw Jaime. "Oh! Er, sorry, but do you know where the sick bay is?"

"Um, yeah, it's just this way. I can take you if you like. It gets rather confusing in here," she smiled warmly.

The family smiled in relief and Jaime led them down to the sick bay. They seemed very nice, but shaken up all the same. Suddenly, Jaime stopped at the sound of crying. Very loud crying. It sounded like Amy.

"What's that?" the man asked.

"Er, it's nothing! Here, go down to the end, first door on your left, you can't miss it!"

They didn't question and followed her directions. Jaime quickly picked up the pace, following the cries. It sounded absolutely heartbroken. What'd she missed this time? Jaime found her way to the console room to see a depressing sight. Amy was crying her eyes out as the Doctor flew the TARDIS away despite her protests. Rory wasn't in sight.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Jaime called over the TARDIS's engines.

The Doctor ignored her, looking like he just wanted to forget everything that happened. Amy was standing by the doors, eyes red from crying. Jaime looked up at the scanner to see that just outside, a bright light was streaming over a body. She couldn't tell who it was, only seeing the person's legs.

"That light," Amy rasped, her voice heavy with sadness. "If his body's absorbed, I'll forget him. He'll never have existed. You can't let that happen," she weeped at the Doctor.

Jaime made her way over to the console slowly, hesitating to get into the conversation any deeper. The Doctor ignored Amy's protests and moved the TARDIS away from their location.

"Doctor, no!" Amy ran up to the console, trying to pry the Doctor away from his controls. To no avail, Jaime watched in horror as they flew away. "No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there," Amy cried.

Jaime's stomach flipped as she realized whose body was lying there. It was Rory.

"Keep him in your mind. Don't forget him," the Doctor ordered. "If you forget him, you'll lose him forever."

"On the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveller now, you said," Amy sobbed. Jaime heard about their adventure on the Byzantium. About how the ship was crawling with Weeping Angels and something about a crack in time.

"They weren't part of your world. This is different, this is your own history changing."

Amy continued sobbing as the Doctor tried to comfort her. Poor Jaime still had no idea what was going on. She was so confused that all she could do was stand off to the side and watch. What about her? Would she forget Rory?

Suddenly, the TARDIS landed roughly, sending them all to the floor. Amy's mood flipped as easily as flipping a light switch. "What were you saying?" she asked in such a cheerful voice that Jaime gasped.

She forgot Rory... but Jaime still remembered.

She looked over to the Doctor to see him staring at Amy with a sad expression. He remembered Rory, too. Except for Amy. The love of Rory's life forgot who he was.

Suddenly, the family from earlier appeared at the top of the stairs. "I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad," the husband said.

"Doctor... five seconds till it all goes up!" Amy announced.

Everyone jumped to their feet, making their way to the doors. Jaime quickly followed them outside to see that they certainly weren't in Rio. A large drilling plant sat in the distance, exploding as Jaime had barely seen it.

"You have got a _lot_ of explaining to do."

*** * * ***

The man and boy, who Jaime discovered were Mo and Elliot, did their best to explain everything to her. They told her about the Silurians and how they are creatures that live under the earth. They thought it was time to come back to the surface, but the Doctor convinced them otherwise.

Jaime was leaning against the TARDIS when the Doctor and Amy were walking back. "Oh, hey, look! There I am again! Hello, me!" Amy waved.

Jaime looked in the direction she was facing to just barely make out an older Amy. Suddenly, Amy became very quiet. "Are you okay?" Jaime asked.

"I thought I saw someone else there for a second."

Jaime frowned. Rory was supposed to be with future her on the hill. They were supposed to be together. "I need a holiday," Amy quickly changed the subject. "Didn't we talk about Rio?"

"You two go in. Just fix this lock, keeps jamming."

"You boys and your locksmithery," Amy rolled her eyes.

As she walked into the TARDIS, Jaime gave the Doctor a look that said 'You _really_ need to explain what happened'. He nodded before turning away. Jaime thought nothing of it and followed Amy inside. She narrowly avoided speaking to her and darted for her room.

*** * * * **

Jaime was heartbroken about Rory. What was that light? Did he get hurt before the light got him? She had to stop her rushing thoughts as a pounding head ache came on.

Suddenly, the door to Jaime's room squeaked open. The Doctor poked his head in before closing the door behind him. Jaime spoke before he could. "Doctor, what happened to Rory?"

He sighed before sitting next to her on the bed. "Rory doesn't exist anymore. He was never born."

"But we still remember him. How come Amy doesn't?"

"There are cracks in time spread out all around the universe. Whatever falls into them gets erased from time. Rory was a big part of Amy's history. Because of that, she forgot him. We didn't forget him because he wasn't a big part of our world."

"How did Rory fall into the crack?"

The Doctor suddenly looked very sheepish. "He... he was killed. By a Silurian weapon. He died before the crack got to him."

Jaime felt tears streaming down her cheeks, but didn't bother to wipe them away. So, Rory was already dead. There was truly no way for him to ever come back.

The Doctor turned his body to fully face her. "You know she doesn't remember what happened with the Dream Lord, don't you, Jaime?"

She looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Amy doesn't remember shouting at you. That was over Rory. In her eyes, nothing ever happened." He was right. Amy still saw them as the best of friends. Sisters. This could be Jaime's second chance at a perfect friendship.

"I'm sorry for skipping out," Jaime meekly apologized. "I just thought it'd be better that way."

The Doctor placed a large hand on her slumped shoulder. "Jaime, you don't have to be afraid of Amy. I mean, yes, she can be quite scary sometimes, but she forgave you. Even before Rory died, you were forgiven." He pulled her into his arms tightly. "We never want to make you do anything against your will. We're always thinking about what's best for you, you know that."

Jaime sniffed. "Thank you."

He kissed the top of her head gently. "As for Rory, we'll remember him even if Amy doesn't. For her own protection, we should keep ourselves from mentioning him. It will be too painful."

Jaime nodded in agreement. She realized that as long as she's on the TARDIS, she shouldn't be missing adventures. Look at today for example. She decided to sit it out and what happens? Rory dies. No use skipping out again.


	7. Vincent and the Doctor (#1)

Ever since Rory was "never born", Amy had spare time. She spent most of it with Jaime which she took advantage of. Jaime knew Amy forgot about yelling at her because it was over Rory. Now Amy just thought Jaime was acting weird for the sake of acting weird.

Meanwhile, Jaime found herself having a hard time avoiding talk of Rory. She didn't want Amy to get hurt, plus she knew the Doctor wouldn't allow it for timey wimey reasons. Jaime missed Rory greatly. He was the one who saved her life after all.

Now he was gone. The saddest part was that he never got to marry Amy or start a life with her. That broke Jaime's heart.

Jaime found a book in the library about the life of Vincent Van Gogh. The Doctor noticed it sitting on her desk and decided to take her and Amy to see the famous paintings in the Musée d'Orsay. Of course, Jaime was ecstatic. Amy was quite excited, too, being a fan of Van Gogh's art.

Jaime was the first one to the exhibit, not even glancing at the other art. The Doctor and Amy followed her as best as they could without losing her. They found Jaime in the exhibit as a curator was giving a tour. She was excitedly glancing around, completely astonished by how beautiful the art was in reality.

Amy smiled warmly as Jaime tried to contain her excitement. "Thanks for bringing me," Amy thanked the Doctor. "You're being so nice to me. Why are you being so nice to me?" she questioned as Jaime ran over.

"I'm always nice to you," he countered as Jaime raised an eyebrow at them.

"Not like this. These places you're taking me- Arcadia, the Trojan Gardens, now this. I think it's suspicious."

"What? It's not! There's nothing to be suspicious about. Maybe I wanted to do something for Jaime."

"Okay, I was joking," she raised her hands in defense. "Why aren't you?"

When he didn't answer, she turned to see Jaime staring at the curator as he spoke to the crowd. Suddenly, Jaime felt Amy pulling her hand. "Look! There it is. The actual one," she gaped, staring at the painting The Church at Auvers.

"Yes," the Doctor said. "You can almost feel his hand painting it right in front of you. Carving the colors into shapes... wait a minute. Well, just look at that," he marveled.

"What?" Amy questioned.

"Something very not good indeed."

"What very not good thing?" Jaime peered a little closer to the painting.

"Look there, in the window of the church." In the window was something that definitely should not be in the original painting. Something terrifying.

"Is it a face?"

"Yes. And not a nice face at all. I know evil when I see it and I see it in that window."

The Doctor swiftly turned and speed walked over to the curator. "Excuse me, if I can just interrupt for one second. Sorry, everyone. Routine inspection. Ministry of Art and... Artiness. So, um..."

"Dr. Black," the curator finished.

"Yes, that's right. Do you know when that picture of the church was painted?"

"Ah, well, ah! What an interesting question. Most people-" he pondered.

"I'm going to have to hurry you. When was it? As exactly as you can. Without a long speech, if poss. I'm in a hurry."

"Well, in that case, probably somewhere between the 1st and 3rd of June."

"What year?"

"1890. Less than a year before... before he killed himself."

"Thank you, sir. Very helpful indeed. Nice bow tie. Bow ties are cool," he gloated to the girls who just nodded sarcastically.

"Yours is very..." "Oh, thank you." Jaime cleared her throat rudely. "Right. Keep telling them stuff. We need to go," he said hurriedly, pulling the girls to the exit.

"What about the other pictures?" Amy protested.

"Art can wait. This is life and death. We need to talk to Vincent Van Gogh."

*** * * ***

Jaime tried to be the first one out of the TARDIS, but the Doctor beat her to it. She was more thrilled about meeting Van Gogh than seeing his paintings in a museum.

"Right, so, here's the plan. We find Vincent and he leads us straight to the church and our nasty friend."

"Easy-peasy," Amy said happily.

"Well, no. I suspect nothing will be easy with Mr. Van Gogh. Now, he'll probably be in the local café. Sort of orangey light, chairs and tables outside."

Amy opened to a page in her pamphlet from the museum, finding the painting of the café. "Like this?"

"That's the one."

Jaime looked up. "Or indeed like that."

They all looked up to see the café. It looked exactly like the painting, all set up the same way. Jaime felt like she fell through some portal to a different land. The land inside the paintings.

"Yeah, exactly like that. Good evening," the Doctor greeted the people outside. "Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?"

"Don't mention that man to me," a man grumbled before walking inside.

"Excuse me," the Doctor said rudely. He then asked two ladies who worked there. "Do you know Vincent Van Gogh?"

"Unfortunately," she sneered. Jaime winced, already feeling the unwelcome vibe.

"Unfortunately?" Amy said in disbelief.

"He's drunk, he's mad and he never pays his bills."

"He's a good painter, though," Jaime countered. They all burst into laughter and that only made Jaime upset. Suddenly, she heard someone shouting from inside.

"Come on, come on! One painting for one drink. That's not a bad deal."

"It wouldn't be a bad deal if the painting were any good," the man from earlier said, walking out of the café. He held a small painting in his hand that Jaime recognized immediately.

Then Vincent Van Gogh himself followed the man outside. The Doctor pointed at him with a stupid grin on his face, causing Jaime to beam in excitement.

"It's bad enough having you in here in person, let alone looming over the customers day and night in a stupid hat. You pay money or you get out," the man sneered.

"I'll pay if you like," the Doctor spoke up.

"What?" Van Gogh asked in disbelief.

"Well, if you like, I'll pay for the drink. Or I'll pay for the painting and you can use the money to pay for the drink."

Vincent looked at him suspiciously. "Exactly who are you?"

"Oh, I'm... new in town," the Doctor brushed off.

"Well, in that case, you don't know three things. One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you." Everyone laughed at that, knowing full well that he never had the money.

"Two, no one ever buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town. So, if you want to stay in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. Three, your red-haired friend's cute, but you should keep your big nose out of other people's business."

Jaime nudged Amy teasingly at the last one, making Amy blush.

"Come on, just one more drink," Vincent begged the man. "I'll pay tomorrow." As they continued to argue, Amy elbowed Jaime, giving her a nod towards the bickering men. Jaime gulped, but compiled as confidently as she could.

"Oh, just shut up, you two!" she groaned loudly.

Amy smiled at her and walked over to the men, mouths gaping open. She'd been trying to get Jaime to come out of her shell and it seemed to be working, one little step at a time.

"I would like a bottle of wine, please, which I will then share with whomever I choose," Amy requested, eyeing Vincent confidently.

"That could be good," Vincent agreed.

"That's good by me," the man agreed.

Jaime grinned as the Doctor got up from his seat. She couldn't believe that she was about to talk to Vincent Van Gogh. Don't say anything you'll regret, Jaime.

*** * * ***

In the café, Jaime sat at a table with the Doctor, Amy and Vincent. She started getting used to the idea of being with Van Gogh, but she was bubbling with excitement inside. "That accent of yours. Are you from Holland, like me?" Vincent asked Amy.

"No." "Yes. She means yes." Jaime rolled her eyes at the Doctor and Amy's comments.

"So, start again," the Doctor brushed off awkwardly, extending a hand to Vincent. "Hello, I'm the Doctor."

"I knew it!" Vincent cried angrily, making Jaime tense up.

"Sorry?" the Doctor asked.

"My brother's always sending doctors, but you won't be able to help," he said stubbornly.

"No, not that kind of doctor," the Doctor chuckled, eyeing one of Vincent's paintings. "Isn't that incredible, don't you think, Jaime?"

"A-Absolutely. One of my favorites," Jaime said, not completely choking over her words.

"One of my favorite whats? You've never seen my work before," Vincent argued.

Jaime cleared her throat nervously. "Er, one of my favorite paintings I've ever seen, of course." She was quite proud of herself for not stuttering in the middle.

"Then you can't have seen many paintings then," Vincent said sadly. "I know, it's terrible. It's the best I could do."

Jaime frowned. This man would never know how good his artwork is. How much people would come to love him. Vincent stared at Amy in fascination. "Your hair is... orange."

"Yes. So's yours."

"Yes. It was more orange, but now is, of course... less." Jaime didn't know whether to cringe or laugh. It was so painfully obvious that Vincent had a thing for Amy. Even the Doctor had to change the awkward subject.

"So, Vincent, painted any churches recently? Any churchy plans? Are churches, chapels, religiousy stuff like that, something you'd like to get into? You know, fairly soon?"

"Well, there is one church I'm thinking of painting when the weather is right."

"That is very good news," the Doctor said happily.

Suddenly, a woman came in screaming. "Help me!"

"That, on the other hand, isn't quite such good news," the Doctor said. "Come on, Amy, Jemma, Vincent!"

"Oi, you!" Jaime said angrily. She wasn't going to let him get away with calling her Jemma much longer. He ignored her and ran out of the café.

They all ran into an alley behind the café where a small group of people were already gathered. "She's been ripped to shreds!" a man cried. Jaime looked down to see a young girl laying dead on the ground. She put a hand over her mouth in horror.

"Please, let me look. I'm a doctor," the Doctor said, pushing his way through. The poor girl only looked to be nine years old. She was too young.

"Away, all of you vultures! This is my daughter," a woman shouted, kneeling on the ground. "Giselle. What monster could have done this?! Get away from her!" she cried, pushing the crowd away. "Get that madman out of here!"

Suddenly, everyone was shouting at Vincent and throwing rocks at him. The Doctor grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the chaos. "You bring this on us!" the mother shouted at Vincent. "Your madness! You! He's to blame!"

They stopped in an empty alley away from the angry crowd. "Are you alright?" the Doctor tiredly asked Vincent.

"Yes. I'm used to it."

"Has anything like this murder happened here before?" Jaime asked.

Vincent nodded. "Only a week ago. It's a terrible time."

"As I thought, as I thought. Come on, we'd better get you home," the Doctor said.

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"Oh, you're very kind," the Doctor said, using his question as an invitation before he could protest.

*** * * ***

"Dark night. Very starry," the Doctor observed.

Jaime groaned. "Oh, don't you start."

"It's not much. I live on my own," Vincent said, regarding his house. "But you should be okay for one night. One night."

"We're going to stay with him?" Jaime excitedly whispered to the Doctor.

"Until he paints that church."

Vincent hung his hat on a hook outside his front door. "Watch out. That one's wet." They looked up to see the famous painting of Vincent's room sitting out to dry. Jaime looked over at Amy who was in awe. She dragged Jaime inside with the Doctor and Vincent. Her jaw dropped at the sight.

"Sorry about all the clutter," Vincent apologized. The walls were covered in his paintings, some of them lying on the floor. It was like a museum tour of Van Gogh's artwork. Jaime was seeing them before anyone else would come to love them.

"Some clutter," the Doctor remarked.

"I've come to accept the only person who's going to love my paintings is me."

Amy walked in and her jaw dropped like Jaime's. "Wow. I mean, really. Wow."

"Yeah, I know, it's a mess. I'll have a proper clear-out. I must, I really must."

Jaime mentally named the paintings she saw. She gasped lightly, spotting her favorite one of his. The almond blossoms. "Coffee anyone?" Vincent asked.

"Not for me, actually."

Jaime walked into the kitchen just as Vincent put a leaky coffee pot on a painting as if it were part of a table. She quickly rushed forward. "You should be careful with these. They're very precious."

"Precious to me. Not precious to anyone else."

"Oi, they're precious to me!" Jaime cried.

"And me!" Amy called, poking her head in with the Doctor.

"Well, you're very kind. And kindness is most welcome." Jaime smiled at that. She couldn't understand why everyone hated him. If they really got to know him, they'd like him. He was so kind.

"Right, so this church, then. Near here, is it?" the Doctor asked.

"What is it with you and the church?" Vincent asked in exasperation.

"Oh, just casually interested in it, you know," he replied nonchalantly.

"Far from casual. Seems to me you never talk about anything else. He's a strange one," he directed toward Jaime.

"You're telling me," she said crossing her arms.

"Okay, let's talk about you," the Doctor hurriedly changed the subject. "What are you interested in?" He does realize he's talking to Vincent Van Gogh, right?

"Well, look around! Art. It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see. I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of."

"You don't have to tell me," the Doctor said with a smile.

*** * * ***

Amy led Jaime outside to look at more of the paintings. The best part of meeting Van Gogh was seeing the paintings that no one else has ever seen. The paintings that were lost in time or destroyed.

"This is incredible," Amy breathed.

"Absolutely amazing," Jaime added.

Amy laughed softly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "So you're feeling better then? No more skipping out on adventures?"

Jaime smiled. "I'm fine, Amy. I was just a little... homesick is all." She had been missing her mother, but there wasn't much she could do about it. She said her goodbyes and that was that.

Amy leaned down and gently kissed Jaime on top of her head. "We're your family now, Jaime. It may not seem like it, but the Doctor and I do care for you."

"Thanks, Amy." At this point, it was incredibly hard to not mention Rory. She had to spare Amy the pain that would come with it. She let go of Jaime and ran over to the other side of the house to look at another painting.

"Ooh! Jaime, look at this one." Jaime took a step forward, but she was suddenly knocked off her feet. She screamed in fright before the wind was knocked out of her. Jaime painfully looked up to see what attacked her, but there was nothing. Amy ran to Jaime's side and pulled her off the ground.

"What happened?" the Doctor asked running from the inside of the house, Vincent on his tail.

"I don't know. I didn't see it," Jaime gasped. Amy grasped her hand tightly as the Doctor and Vincent looked around.

"It's okay. He's gone now and we're here." Suddenly, Vincent started yelling in fear. He was pointing in a direction and looked terrified. The Doctor tried to calm him down, but nothing was helping.

"What's happening? What's he doing?" Amy yelled.

Suddenly, Vincent picked up a pitchfork, pointing it defensively at the Doctor. He charged right by them, not looking interested in them. "Run! Run!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not a bad idea," the Doctor said. "Amy, Jemma, get back. He's having some kind of fit."

Amy pulled a trembling Jaime over to the house, away from the Doctor. Vincent seemed to be fighting something, but they couldn't see anything. He truly looked like a madman.

"Look, look. It's me, it's me, it's me. It's the Doctor, look. No one else is here." Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet just like Jaime was. A painting that the girls were standing behind ripped down the middle.

"I can't see anything! What is it?" Amy cried.

The Doctor quickly grabbed a large stick. "Let me help you."

"You can see him, too?" Vincent asked in disbelief.

"Yes... ish," the Doctor confessed, going over to a completely different side of the wall than Vincent. "Well... no, not really." He was knocked back again as the invisible creature snuck up on him.

"You couldn't see him," Vincent deadpanned.

The Doctor let out a battle-like cry and started aimlessly swinging at the air. Vincent fought the invisible monster until it ran away. The battle was over, but the Doctor didn't know that. He kept swinging his stick at the air, hoping to hit something. Jaime rubbed her eyes before walking over to the Doctor and smacking his arm.

"He's gone," Vincent said. The Doctor looked sheepishly at the others as Jaime gave him a disappointed look.

"Oh, right. Yes, of course." He quickly threw the stick aside and made his way for the house.

*** * * ***

"So, he's invisible? What did he look like?" the Doctor asked Vincent once they were all inside.

"I'll show you." Vincent placed a painting on the table and sloppily painted over it.

"Oh, no, no, no!" the Doctor cried.

"What?" Vincent asked. He obviously had no idea just how amazing his work was.

"It's just... that was quite good."

Vincent ignored the distraught Doctor and continued to cover his once beautiful painting. He started sketching away, trying to show exactly what the monster looked like. Jaime couldn't help but be enchanted by the way he drew. He didn't use exact precision, but it still ended up looking amazing. Better than anything she could ever do.

Vincent nervously showed the creature he saw. It looked absolutely terrifying. To think, they had already encountered it. The creature seemed to resemble some sort of large bird. It had a large beak and claws to make it more menacing.

The Doctor snatched the painting and made his way for the door. "Right. Amy, Jemma, make Mr. Van Gogh comfortable. Don't let any invisible monsters through the front door."

Amy jumped up to stop him. "But it could be outside! Waiting!"

"Don't worry, I'll risk it. What's the worst that can happen?" he replied, ignoring Jaime's death glare.

"You could get torn into pieces by a monster you can't see," Amy countered.

"Oh, right, yes. That. Don't worry. I'll be back before you can say, 'Where's he got to now?'" The Doctor smiled smugly and walked out the door. Amy rolled her eyes and turned to sit.

"Not that fast!" The Doctor jumped back into the room, giving the three of them a mini heart attack. He laughed stupidly. "But pret-ty fast. See you around."

*** * * ***

The sun came up and Jaime was losing her mind. She managed to sleep a couple hours, but Vincent's snoring kept waking her up. She could tell it was bothering Amy, too. The Doctor should be back by now.

What if something bad happened? What if the monster got him? She tried not to think of the worst possible situation.

Suddenly, Vincent let out the loudest snore she'd ever heard. Yep. Time to go.

Jaime slowly got out of the uncomfortable chair that was sitting next to Amy's. She was fast asleep in her chair and Jaime couldn't understand how. She took a step, careful of the creaking floor boards. She was just about to step through the door-

"Jaime?" a quiet voice spoke. Jaime winced at Amy's groggy voice. She also didn't get much sleep. "Where are you going?" she asked, sitting up in her chair.

"I um... I was gonna go look for the Doctor." Jaime was worried that Amy was gonna go all protective mother on her and keep her from going.

Amy nodded once before jumping up. "Let's go."

Jaime grinned and took off, Amy close behind. Together, they made their way into town. They were as careful as they could be, listening for any sign of the Doctor or the invisible monster.

She went in front of Amy, hearing no sign of the Doctor. Maybe he's in the TARDIS. Jaime turned a corner that led to the time machine. Suddenly, she ran into a tall man with a weird device who screamed as they collided. Jaime jumped back in fear, also screaming.

"Never do that!" She looked up to see it was the Doctor of all people. "You scared the living daylights out of me," he said tightly.

"Sorry, we got bored." Amy came up behind the teenager who was catching her breath. "As much as you admire his command of color and shape, it is hard to get fond of Vincent Van Gogh's snoring."

*** * * ***

Jaime sat outside with Amy, enjoying the warm summer sun. She hadn't had much time to just relax outside ever since she stepped on the TARDIS. She chuckled when she heard the Doctor loudly waking Vincent up for breakfast.

She opened her eyes when she heard Vincent open his shutters. Her and Amy had gathered a lot of sunflowers and placed them all around outside. "We thought you might like, you know, possibly, to perhaps paint them or something. Might be a thought," Amy suggested to him.

"Yes, well, they're not my favorite flower."

"You don't like sunflowers?" Jaime asked in disbelief.

"No, it's not that I don't like them. I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge."

"And one I'm pretty sure you'll rise to," the Doctor said as he joined them outside. "But moving on, there's something I need to show you."

*** * * ***

The Doctor found out what the creature was and was now showing Vincent the picture of it. "That's him! And the eyes... without mercy."

"This is a creature called the Krafayis," the Doctor explained. "They travel in space, they travel as a pack. Scavenging across the universe. Sometimes one of them gets left behind and because they are a brutal race, the others never come back. So, dotted all around the universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis. And what they do is... well, kill until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them."

"But I can," Vincent concluded.

"Yes. And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So, feeling like painting the church today?"

"What about the monster?" Vincent asked nervously.

"Take my word for it. If you paint it, he will come."

Vincent smiled and jumped to his feet. "Okay. I'll get my things."

"In your own time. And I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow."

Vincent stopped in the doorway. Jaime noticed a sad expression on his face, but he left before she could question it. "This is risky," the Doctor concluded.

"Riskier than normal?" Jaime asked.

"Well, think about it," he whispered in case Vincent was listening. "This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the net result of our pleasant little trip will be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musée d'Orsay will disappear."

He sighed in exasperation before sitting next to Amy. "And it will be our fault."

Jaime let out a sharp breath. "No pressure then."

*** * * ***

The Doctor had the girls wait outside as he got Vincent from upstairs. The poor man had been up there for a while and they were getting suspicious.

Suddenly, they heard shouting come from above. Vincent was yelling loudly. Amy gave Jaime a wary look before they took off to see what the commotion was all about.

Amy led the way to the stairs outside where the Doctor just left Vincent's bedroom. He looked very distraught and it suddenly had Jaime worried.

"What's happening?" Amy asked as she joined the Doctor.

"We're leaving," he whispered, almost agitated. "Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now, he'll... he'll take his own life."

Jaime frowned. "Please don't say that," she whispered. He gave her a sad look, but quickly ran down to the lower level. Amy followed him, but Jaime couldn't seem to move her feet.

Vincent led a depressed and anxious life. He didn't have any friends, he was treated badly, and he only found comfort in his art. Of course he'd be upset when the only friends he had were leaving. Maybe he thought they didn't care. That they were just wanderers who had better things to do.

No matter how stupid it was, Jaime gently opened Vincent's door. The Doctor would freak out if he knew what she was doing. In his eyes, Vincent was a poor, unstable man with mental disabilities. So why did she want to help him?

Sunlight flooded the room as she laid eyes on the artist. He was curled into a ball on his bed, crying his eyes out. Jaime's heart went out to him. Surprising enough, she felt his pain. She knew the suffering he was going through.

His back was turned to her as she quietly took a few steps forward. She was nervous about him lashing out, but she couldn't help herself. "Vincent?"

He sniffed loudly, keeping his back to her. "Please go, child. You don't want to be with a mad man the likes of me." His voice was breaking.

She swallowed hard. "I-I want to help. I know what you're going through," she said quietly, afraid the Doctor would hear her. She was now at the side of Vincent's bed. He lifted his head, eyes puffy and stained a deep red.

"How can you possibly understand my suffering?" he said lowly, almost as a growl. Suddenly, Jaime feared this was a mistake. Maybe she never should've come in. She should've just followed the Doctor and Amy.

"I've been alone my whole life. My family... disowned me. At school, the kids would always tease me about where I came from and how poor I was. They would bully me everyday, hit me, spit on me, throw things at me. I had a bad life."

Memories started flashing in her mind, memories that made her wince. Jaime couldn't believe Vincent would be the one to hear this. She always thought it'd be a secret.

She hesitantly kneeled down beside the bed. "The only real family I ever had was mum. She was the only one who cared for me. But then... then she died. She left me all alone a-and... everything was weighing down on me. School, my family, everything was too much."

Jaime moved her head down. "I... I started to hurt myself. I couldn't tell if it helped or not. It was just something I did. Soon, I had nothing left in my life and I just wanted it all to end," she sniffled, words falling quiet.

Tears were streaming down her face and she forced herself to look at Vincent. He turned his head to face her, pity overtaking his features. She wiped away her tears and forced a small smile.

"But then I met the Doctor. He gave me a chance to start over. Amy and he gave me a family that love and care for me. I haven't had something like that in so long." She didn't want everything to be focused on her anymore, and straightened up, as confident as she could be.

"I guess that what I'm trying to say is it's never too late for a second chance. If someone is willing to be there for you, then take the chance. Even if it's only for a little while, it can do a world of difference. It's not worth denying friendship when you feel you have nothing left."

Vincent was now facing her and sat at the edge of his bed. Jaime quickly wiped her tears and looked up at him. Suddenly, she gasped as Vincent tightly wrapped his arms around her small form. She hesitantly hugged him back, happy that she did some good even though it brought back painful memories.

Jaime grinned and hugged him tighter before letting go. "Come on. You got a church to paint."

*** * * ***

The Doctor and Amy were downstairs, marveling the paintings one last time. Amy still seemed upset about leaving Vincent to suffer, but the Doctor soldiered on. "Come on. We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up."

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over from the doorway, quickly joined by a second. The Doctor looked up to see Vincent with his jacket and signature hat. Jaime was standing next to him, holding in a cheeky grin.

"I'm ready. Let's go," Vincent said confidently. He picked out his supplies before exiting the house. The Doctor looked over at Jaime, completely lost.

"You... wha- how?"

Her grin slipped as she walked up to him, confidently crossing her arms. "Oh, I have my ways."

Amy grinned as the Doctor ran up to Jaime. "Jemma Woods, you are a lifesaver!" He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her on top of the head.

*** * * ***

The walk down the dirt road was very scenic and peaceful. Vincent carried his palate and easel, more confident than before. Amy had her arm linked with his and couldn't look happier. "I'm sorry you're so sad."

"But I'm not," Vincent protested. "Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months. But I'm good now. You have young Jemma to thank for that."

Amy turned her head to grin back at Jaime who walked beside the Doctor. "If Amy Pond and Jemma Woods can solider on, then so can Vincent Van Gogh."

The Doctor laughed at Jaime's sour face. No matter how much she hated being called Jemma, she wouldn't take it out on her favorite artist of all time. The Doctor, on the other hand, got a sharp smack on the arm.

Amy laughed at them. "I'm not soldiering on. I'm fine."

"Oh, Amy. I hear the song of your sadness," Vincent said in despair. "You've lost someone, I think."

The Doctor and Jaime looked down sheepishly as memories of Rory resurfaced.

"I'm not sad," Amy insisted.

"Then why are you crying?" She reached up to wipe away a tear that she didn't know had fallen. "It's alright. I understand," Vincent said solemnly.

"I'm not sure I do," Amy added, looking a little nervous.

"Okay. Okay!" the Doctor said, getting bored of their small talk. "So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns-"

"Then we shall fight him again," Vincent said strongly. Okay, maybe a bit too confident.

"Well, yes, tick," the Doctor said slowly. "But last night, we were lucky. Jaime could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him, too."

"And how are we meant to do that suddenly?" Amy asked sarcastically.

"The answer's in this box," he concluded, holding up the box he'd been carrying. "I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother."

Jaime looked up at the church to see a sad sight. A group of people dressed in black were carrying a coffin down the road.

"Oh, no. It's that poor girl from the village," Vincent said sadly.

As the wooden coffin passed, they silently stood on the side of the road respectfully. A bunch of sunflowers laid on the top. The girl's mother glared at Vincent, but was in too much grief to speak.

"You do have a plan... don't you?" Amy asked the Doctor once they passed by.

"No," he admitted. "It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greyness."


	8. Vincent and the Doctor (#2)

Vincent had his supplies set up in front of the church as the Doctor started rambling on. "And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters."

"Yes. While I may be mad, I'm not stupid," Vincent said in exasperation.

Jaime giggled at that. "No. Quite," the Doctor said as reassuringly as possible. "And, to be honest... I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex-" Vincent cut him off by shushing softly.

"I'm working."

"Well, yes. Paint! Do painting!

Jaime giggled again and sat on the grass, deciding to get comfortable. She had a feeling it was going to take a while. It seemed that the Doctor was completely oblivious to how long this could take. He continued rambling on about painting, giving Vincent "advice" that really did no good.

"I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel," he added. "Wow. What a whinger. I kept saying to him, 'Look, if you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job'."

Jaime rolled her eyes as Amy shushed him. She was enjoying watching Vincent work while the Doctor couldn't keep still.

*** * * ***

"And Picasso. What a ghastly old goat," the Doctor said. It had been a few hours and waiting was starting to take a toll on him. "I kept telling him, 'Concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye, either side of the face'."

"Quiet," Amy hissed.

*** * * ***

"Is this how time normally passes? Reeaallyy slowly. In the right order," the Doctor whined.

Jaime's head started bobbing, slowly falling asleep. It was now pitch black outside, but peaceful nonetheless. Almost too peaceful. The Doctor continued to whine and Jaime fought the urge to throw a pebble at him.

"There! He's at the window!" Vincent shouted.

"Where?" Jaime asked, getting to her feet.

"There, on the right."

"As I thought. Come on," the Doctor said running towards the church. "I'm going in."

"Well, I'm coming, too," Vincent added, putting his brushes down.

"No!" the Doctor protested, facing the three of them. "You're Vincent Van Gogh. No."

"But you're not armed," Vincent countered.

"I am."

"What with?"

"Overconfidence, this and a small screwdriver. I'm absolutely sorted." The Doctor had his box in his hands. "Just have to find the right crosactic setting and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, Jemma, only one thought, one simple instruction. Don't follow me under any circumstances."

"We won't," Amy assured as the Doctor quickly ran inside the church.

"Will you follow him?" Vincent asked.

"Of course," Amy scoffed.

"I love you," Vincent confessed with admiration.

A few minutes later, everything was completely silent. Jaime prayed that the Doctor was alright and that everything would go to plan... whatever the plan was. "Has he moved?" Amy asked.

"No. Just shifted to the next window," Vincent replied. "But wait! He's turning now!"

Jaime joined Amy beside Vincent, the church absolutely silent. Suddenly, the Doctor let out a yell. "Doctor!" Amy cried, taking off.

Jaime ran so fast that she passed Amy. Inside the church, she ran around the corner as the Doctor was facing away. "Doctor!"

"Ahh! I thought I told you-!" he grumbled angrily. "Never mind, we'll talk about it later."

He grabbed her arm as Amy joined and pulled them into the confessional booth. Jaime had to squeeze into one side with Amy while trying to be as quiet as possible. Footsteps echoed across the floor, being the only noise heard. Except for Amy's breathing.

"Can you breath a little quieter, please?" the Doctor whispered from the other side.

"No!" Amy whispered in annoyance.

Jaime peeked through the curtain, not seeing or hearing anything. "He's gone past," she whispered, only to have the Doctor shush her.

Suddenly, the Krafayis growled loudly, causing the curtain to fly up. Amy let out a shriek. "I think he heard us," the Doctor stated. Suddenly, the booth started shaking violently as pieces of the booth were ripped off.

"Hey! Are you looking for me, sonny?"

The shaking abruptly stopped. Jaime moved the curtain aside to see Vincent holding up his chair in defense. "Come on! Over here! Because I'm right here waiting for you."

The Krafayis let out a yell as Vincent started fighting it. He lashed out with his chair and it seemed to be stopping the Krafayis. "Come on! Quickly! Get behind me," Vincent motioned.

Jaime, the Doctor, and Amy stepped out of the booth, taking cover behind Vincent. The Doctor attempted to use his sonic, but it did nothing to stop the monster. Amy pulled Jaime outside the church and the boys followed. "Where is he?"

"Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head," Vincent retorted.

The Krafayis walked about loudly, letting them know full well where it was. It let out a vicious snarl, causing Jaime to jump.

"Come on, in here," Amy called, running to a large wooden door. They all forced the door closed and Jaime let out a sigh of relief once they were safe.

"Right. Okay. Here's the plan. Amy, Jaime, Rory-"

"Who?" Amy asked. Jaime felt a pang hit her chest at the Doctor's small mistake.

"Sorry, um, Vincent," he corrected.

"What is the plan?" Jaime quickly changed the subject.

"I don't know, actually. My only definite plan is that in future, I'm just using this screwdriver for screwing in screws."

"Give me a second. I'll be back," Vincent said before running off.

"I suppose we could try talking to him," the Doctor suggested.

"Talking to him?!" Amy protested.

"Well, yes. Might be interesting to know his side of the story. Yes, though maybe he's not really in the mood for conversation right at this precise moment,"

"You don't say?" Jaime asked with a glare.

Suddenly, a large banging came from the other side of the door, causing Jaime to squeak in surprise. "Well, no harm trying. Listen! Listen!" the Doctor called out and the banging ceased.

"I know you can understand me. Even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me. I also know that no one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please... listen."

The growling stopped and the creature seemed to be listening to the Doctor's words. "I also don't belong on this planet. I also am... alone. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of, you know, understanding. And then... and then, who knows?"

Suddenly, the glass on the opposite side of the room shattered. Jaime screamed and gripped Amy's coat tightly. The Krafayis roared as it made its way around the room.

Vincent ran back in, armed with his easel. "Over here, mate!"

"What's it up to now?" the Doctor asked.

"It's moving around the room. Feeling its way around." Why would it do that? They were right there in the open. It should have seen them by now?

"It's like it's trapped. It's moving round the edges of the room."

"I can't see a thing," Amy huffed.

"I am really stupid," the Doctor said breathily.

"Oh, get a grip!" Amy snapped. "This is not a moment to re-evaluate your self esteem."

"No, I am really stupid. And I'm growing old. Why does it attack, but never eat its victims? And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? And why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room?" the Doctor questioned, almost too quickly for anyone to catch. "It can't see, it's blind. And that, of course, explains why it has such perfect hearing!"

"Which unfortunately also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us," Vincent said, getting to his feet. He held up his easel as a weapon, wielding the sharp ends meant to stick in the ground.

"Vincent, Vincent, what's happening?"

"It's charging now. Get back, get back!" He charged forward and stuck the easel into the invisible monster. Suddenly, Vincent was lifted into the air. Sickening crunches rang out as he fell to the floor. The Krafayis started wailing in pain and Vincent suddenly looked guilty.

"He wasn't without mercy at all. He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen. I only meant to wound it, I never meant to..." he said sadly. Jaime wrapped an arm around him, comforting him as best as she could.

"He's trying to say something," the Doctor said, kneeling beside the dying creature.

"What is it?" Vincent asked.

"I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying, 'I'm, I'm afraid. I'm afraid'." The Doctor reached out a hand and placed it on the Krafayis comfortingly.

The room went silent, letting them all know that the Krafayis was dead. "He was frightened," Vincent spoke. "And he lashed out. Like humans who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me."

Jaime hugged Vincent tighter as he placed a hand on her arm. She knew how it felt. How it felt to be picked on and hated. All this time she spent loving this man's artwork and she never realized that they went through similar experiences.

"You know, sometimes winning... winning is no fun at all," the Doctor concluded sadly.

*** * * ***

Vincent took the trio to a hill side. They all laid down on the grass as a cooling breeze rippled through. Jaime laid next to the Doctor and Amy, finally feeling calm. She felt Amy take her hand and gladly accepted it.

"Hold my hand, Doctor," she heard Vincent request. "Try to see what I see." Jaime reached over to the Doctor, taking his hand in hers.

"We are so lucky we are still alive to see this beautiful world," Vincent said softly. "Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue. And over there, lighter blue," he said, pointing to the sky.

"And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air and then shining, burning, bursting through. The stars! Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes."

Jaime grinned in amazement as the beautiful scene was unleashed before her eyes.

"I've seen many things, my friend," the Doctor spoke. "But, you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

Suddenly, Jaime felt sad. They would have to leave soon. How would poor Vincent react? They were the only friends he had. "I will miss you terribly," Vincent said softly.

*** * * ***

Back in Vincent's house, they were about to say their goodbyes. Vincent was trying to give the Doctor one of his paintings which just happened to be his well known self portrait. "Oh, no, no. I could never accept such an extraordinary gift."

"Very well. You are not the first to decline the offer. Amy, the blessed, the wonderful," Vincent dubbed.

Amy grinned before kissing Vincent's cheek and hugging him tightly. "Be good to yourself and... be kind to yourself," Amy requested.

"I'll try my best."

"And maybe give the beard a little trim before you next kiss someone," she laughed.

"I will. I will. And if you tire of this Doctor of yours, return. And we will have children by the dozen!"

Jaime let out a laugh at that. "Eek," Amy winced.

"Doctor, my friend," Vincent said proudly. "We fought monsters together and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well." The Doctor hugged him tightly and couldn't help, but smile at Vincent's happy look.

"Young Jemma... you have so much more courage than I could ever have."

Jaime smiled sadly before wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Don't say things like that. You've made it this far, you can keep going."

"I'll always cherish our memories together. For the rest of my life."

Jaime blinked back tears before finally letting him go. She avoided the Doctor and Amy's stares. Just like everyone else, they had no idea what she was going through.

"And I you."

*** * * ***

Outside Vincent's house, the trio were about to make their way towards the TARDIS. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the Doctor asked quietly.

"I was thinking I may need some food or something before we leave," Amy said.

"In other words, no, she wasn't thinking what you were thinking," Jaime rephrased.

The Doctor stopped walking and turned to the open window. "Vincent!" Seconds later, a shirtless Vincent appeared. "Got something I'd like to show you. Maybe just tidy yourself up a bit first."

Before long, Vincent joined them to the TARDIS. Jaime had an idea about what the Doctor was thinking, but kept her mouth shut. The Doctor groaned at the sight of the TARDIS, completely covered in papers that people put on.

"Well, brace yourself, Vinny." The Doctor opened the TARDIS and stepped back for the painter to see. Jaime had to fight back a giggle at his confused look. The three of them let him examine the TARDIS and make sure it really was bigger on the inside.

"How come I'm the crazy one and you three have stayed sane? What do these things all do?"

Jaime closed the door behind them and joined them at the console. "Oh, a huge variety of things. This one here, for instance, plays soothing music. While this one makes a huge amount of noise," the Doctor listed, pressing various buttons.

"And this one makes everything go absolutely tonto." The Doctor laughed as the TARDIS took off, tossing everyone around.

"And this one?" Vincent asked, pointing to a random button. "That's a friction contrafibulator!"

"And this?"

"That's ketchup and that one's mustard."

"Mmm, nice!" Vincent cried gleefully. "Come on. Back to the café and you can tell me about all the wonders of the universe."

"Good idea. Although, actually, there's a little something I'd like to show you first."

*** * * ***

"Where are we?" Vincent asked in wonder, stepping out of the TARDIS.

"Paris. 2010 AD and this is the mighty Musée d'Orsay. Home to many of the greatest paintings in history."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Vincent smiled.

Suddenly, someone walked by holding a boombox. Vincent stared at it in wonder and Jaime laughed lightly. "Er, ignore that. I've got something more important to show you," the Doctor brushed off.

They all led Vincent inside the Musée d'Orsay, admiring the artwork along the way. Jaime realized where they were going and it made her bubbly with excitement. Vincent kept pausing to admire the beautiful work and the Doctor had to redirect him.

Soon, they were in the Van Gogh section. Vincent looked around in absolute wonder. "Dr. Black?" The Doctor pulled over the curator they talked to a couple days ago. "We met a few days ago. I asked you about the Church at Auvers."

"Oh, yes. Glad to be of help. You were nice about my tie."

"Yes. And today is another cracker, if I may say so," the Doctor beamed. "But I just wondered, between you and me, in 100 words, where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art?"

Jaime turned to make sure that Vincent was listening. This would surely be the biggest impact ever on his life.

"Well, um... big question. But, to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all. Certainly, the most popular great painter of all time, the most beloved. His command of color, the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty."

Jaime looked over at Vincent to see his eyes brimming with tears.

"Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world... no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

Vincent started crying and Jaime quickly wrapped an arm around him. The Doctor noticed and seemed to panic. "Vincent, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it too much?" he asked, quickly hugging the man.

"No. They are tears of joy." He went up to the curator and kissed him on both cheeks before hugging him. "Thank you, sir."

"Y-You're welcome. You're welcome," he replied in confusion.

"Sorry about the beard."

Jaime smiled at Amy who also had tears filling her eyes. She wrapped Amy into a hug which she quickly returned. This was quite possibly one of the greatest moments they had ever had with the Doctor. They made a real difference in someones life. She couldn't be more proud.

*** * * ***

"This changes everything." Vincent stepped out of the TARDIS, back by his house. "I'll step out tomorrow with my easel on my back a different man. Though I still can't believe one of the Haystacks was in the museum. How embarrassing."

"It's been a great adventure and a great honor." The Doctor hugged him once again, smiling away with pride.

"You've turned out to be the first doctor ever actually to make a difference to my life!"

"I'm delighted. I won't ever forget you."

Vincent turned to Amy. "And you are sure marriage is out of the question?"

"This time," Amy confirmed before hugging him. "I'm not really the marrying kind."

Amy joined the Doctor beside the TARDIS as Jaime stepped in front of Vincent. She hugged him tightly, her head on his shoulder so the other two wouldn't hear.

"I remember first reading about you in school. That was when I first fell in love with your paintings. I never took the time to really understand all of the pain you went through. I never realized how similar we are until now."

"Oh, Jemma. So innocent and so sweet. I never thought someone like you would be the one to understand me. You don't want to end up like me more than you already are. Stay with the Doctor. Amy and him are your family. Keep them with you... for me. Live a happy life for me."

Jaime nodded, fighting back tears harder than before. "I will. I promise." She kissed his cheek before finally letting him go. "I'll miss you, Vincent Van Gogh. Everyday that I live."

"And I you, Jemma Woods."

*** * * ***

Back at the Musée d'Orsay, Amy couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Time can be rewritten. I know it can. Come on! Oh, the long life of Vincent Van Gogh. There'll be hundreds of new paintings."

"I'm not sure there will," the Doctor said. Sadly, Jaime agreed with him. She knew the toll depression can take. It doesn't just disappear overnight.

In the Van Gogh section, Amy looked around excitedly before realizing that there indeed were no new paintings.

"We have here the last work of Vincent Van Gogh who committed suicide at only 37. He is now acknowledged to be one of the foremost artists of all time."

Jaime sniffed as Amy started to cry freely. "So you were right. No new paintings. We didn't make a difference at all."

"I wouldn't say that. The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things." The Doctor wrapped his arms around Amy as Jaime stood off to the side, trying not to look awkward. "The good things don't always... soften the bad things. But vice versa... the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant. And we definitely added to his pile of good things. And if you look carefully..."

The Doctor pulled Amy over to the Church at Auvers painting as Jaime followed quietly. "Maybe we did indeed make a couple of little changes."

Jaime smiled at the church window. "No Krafayis."

"No Krafayis," the Doctor confirmed.

Jaime turned to see Amy at Vincent's painting of the sunflowers in the vase. Black letters read For Amy along the bottom of the vase. "If we had got married, our kids would've had very, very red hair," Amy said sadly.

"The ultimate ginger," the Doctor added.

"The ultimate ginge. Brighter than sunflowers."

The Doctor wrapped an arm around Amy's shoulders before noticing Jaime off to the side. She looked around the room, tears brimming in her eyes. He knew how much she liked Van Gogh's paintings, but he never knew just how much. He walked up to Jaime, lifting her chin up. She looked up with the most pitiful eyes he had ever seen.

He smiled before hugging her tightly. "Oh, Jaime. You're such a brave girl. If you ask me, you were the one out of us who made the biggest impact on ole Vincent's life. And not because you loved his artwork the most... but because you understand him. And he understands you."

Jaime let out a low whimper before squeezing her arms around the Doctor's neck. She hadn't felt so low about herself since her mother died. Since Ellis Island. She couldn't count the times she wanted to take her own life. How many times she just wanted it all to end.

But, now she made a promise. She promised Vincent that she would live out her life in happiness. She had a family now even if they weren't equivalent to a real family. This was as close as she would ever get, but it was more than she could ever ask for.


	9. The Lodgers

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jaime asked nervously.

"Jemma Woods, I am certain that this is the best idea I've ever had."

Jaime rolled her eyes at the Doctor's antics. Currently, they stood in front of the door to their future flat. Up until this point, they "landed" in Colchester. Jaime left the TARDIS first for the first time. Because of this, she was left behind with the Doctor when the TARDIS tossed them out, leaving Amy inside.

Originally, they thought they arrived at the Fifth Moon of Sinda Callista. They wouldn't have known that if Jaime didn't realize they landed in the area where her dad lived. Now she's stuck here, hoping her dad won't see her.

So far, she didn't see him, much to her relief. The Doctor found a note left for him from Amy in a shop window, giving him directions to the flat that they now stood in front of. The owner was looking for a flat mate and the Doctor seized the opportunity.

He rang the doorbell, summoning footsteps. Jaime's breath hitched when the door swung open. "I love you," the man at the door said before seeing who they were.

"Well, that's good, cause we're your new lodgers. Told you this was a good idea, Jemma. Do you know, this is going to be easier than I expected," the Doctor said, snatching a pair of keys from the mans hand.

*** * * ***

"But I only put the advert up today, I didn't put my address," the man protested.

"Well, aren't you lucky we came along? More lucky than you know," the Doctor replied, gazing around the building warily, "Less of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur. But frankly, I'm an absolute dream."

"Hang on, mate, I don't know if I want you two staying and give me back those keys, you can't have those!" he cried, snatching the pink keys from the Doctor's hand.

"Yes, quite right. Have some rent." The Doctor handed the man a paper brown bag with _quite_ a lot of money in it. "That's probably quite a lot, isn't it? Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell," he said, pushing past the man, and into the flat.

Jaime quickly followed him, glad to be out of plain sight. Inside, a staircase led up to a second flat with a dark, stained glass door.

The Doctor rambled, then gave the man a "kiss" on the cheek, as if they lived in France or something. The poor man was too confused to say anything.

"That's how we greet each other nowadays, isn't it? I'm the Doctor. Well, they call me the Doctor, don't know why. I call me the Doctor, too. Still don't know why. This is Jemma, my daughter. Don't mind her, so quiet you hardly ever know she's there."

Jaime glared at him for calling her that wretched name, but she felt more confused about him calling her his daughter. It must've been his valid excuse for why they were together.

"Hang on, daughter?" the man asked, pointing at Jaime. She knew his confusion was caused by how young the Doctor looked.

"Yes. Why, does she look nothing like me?"

The man blinked once before ignoring it. "Craig Owens. The Doctor?"

"Yep. Who lives upstairs?"

"Just some bloke," Craig brushed off.

"What does he look like?"

"Normal. He's very quiet." A loud bang came from the other flat. "Usually."

The Doctor then walked into Craig's flat. "Sorry, who are you again? Hello?!" Jaime followed the Doctor into the kitchen. By the looks of it, someone else lived here.

"Ah! I suppose that's... dry rot?" They all looked up at the ceiling to see a large brown spot in the corner.

"Or damp, or mildew."

"Or none of the above," the Doctor mused.

"I'll get someone to fix it," Craig suggested.

"No, I'll fix it. I'm good at fixing rot. Call me the Rotmeister. No, I'm the Doctor, don't call me the Rotmeister. This is the most _bea-utiful_ parlor I have ever seen. You're obviously a man of impeccable taste. We can stay, Craig, can't we? Say we can."

Jaime sighed as the Doctor started rambling. She noticed Craig glancing at her and then back at the Doctor as if trying to convince himself that they were father and daughter. She wouldn't believe it either.

"You haven't even seen the room."

"The room?"

"_Your_ room."

"Our room? Oh yes, our room, our room." The Doctor smiled gleefully. "Take us to our room."

Craig led them down the hall and to a door. "Yeah, this is Mark's old room. He owns the place, moved out about a month ago. This uncle he'd never even heard of died and left a load of money in the will."

"How very convenient," the Doctor said, examining the room.

It was decent, nice size for the two of them. Jaime was a little nervous about having to share the bed, but decided to worry about it later. Suddenly, another large bang came from upstairs, accompanied by shattering glass.

"No time to lose. We'll take it. Ah, you'll want to see my credentials." The Doctor whipped out the psychic paper. "There... National Insurance number... NHS number... references."

"Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?" Craig gaped.

"I'm his special favorite," the Doctor preened, "Are you hungry? I'm hungry." He then left for the kitchen. Jaime meekly turned to Craig.

"Er... sorry about him. He's a... bit of a loon," she muttered, quickly leaving before Craig could react.

"I haven't got anything in," Craig protested, following Jaime to the kitchen.

"You've got everything I need for an _omelette_ _fines_ _herbs!_ _Pour __trots!"_ The Doctor grabbed a handful of food from the refrigerator and started to messily cook. "So, who's the girl on the fridge?"

"My friend, Sophie. Girlfriend. A friend who's a girl. There's nothing going on." Jaime raised an eyebrow at that.

"Ah, that's completely normal. Works for me," the Doctor said, continuing to make omelets.

"We met at work about a year ago at the call center."

"Oh, really, a communications exchange? That could be handy."

"Firm's going down, though. The boss is using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do, I got a plan all worked out, but I'm just a phone drone. I can't go running in, saying I know best... why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."

"He's got one of those faces," Jaime spoke.

"Right, where's your stuff?"

"Oh, don't worry... it'll materialize. If all goes to plan," the Doctor said wistfully.

*** * * ***

"That was incredible!" Craig praised as he fell on the couch. They just finished eating and Jaime was surprised it wasn't rubbish. "That was absolutely brilliant. Where did you learn to cook?"

"Paris in the 18th century. No, hang on, that's not recent, is it? 17th? No, no, no, 20th. Sorry, I'm not used to doing them in the right order."

Craig sat there with his mouth agape. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?"

"They never really stop. Ever been to Paris, Craig?"

"Nah, I can't see the point of Paris. I'm not much of a traveller."

"I can tell from your sofa."

"My sofa?"

"You're starting to look like it."

Jaime's eyes widened as she glared at the Doctor before sharply whacking his arm. Craig laughed in disbelief. "Thanks, mate, that's lovely. No, I like it here. I'd miss it, I'd miss..."

Jaime looked at his hand to see him mindlessly holding the keys from earlier. "Those keys?" she questioned.

"What?"

"You're sort of... fondling them," the Doctor added.

"I'm holding them," Craig insisted. He set the keys down and got another pair from the dresser. "These are your keys."

"We can stay?"

"Yeah, you're weird and you can cook. It's good enough for me. Right, outdoor, front door, your door," he explained, holding up said keys.

"Our door. Our place. Our gaff," the Doctor laughed, taking the keys. "Yes! Me with a key."

Jaime reached over, snatching the keys before he could do anything with them. She gave him a stern look before pocketing them. He'd lose them, one way or another.

"By the way, that; the rot... I've got the strangest feeling we shouldn't touch it."

*** * * ***

Jaime was going to pull her hair out. Living with the Doctor was getting to be more than she could handle. Being with him in the TARDIS was a walk in the park. But being stuck in a small room together... she felt she'd never survive.

He had an earpiece as his only form of communication with Amy. The only technology he had, beside the sonic. While talking, he had to multitask to keep himself entertained. This included pacing around the room and jumping on the bed... that Jaime was trying to sleep on.

Apparently, the TARDIS was stuck in some sort of loop, keeping her from landing. "Anything that can stop the TARDIS from landing is big. Scary big," the Doctor told Amy.

Whatever was keeping the TARDIS from landing was upstairs. It would explain the loud noises that happened every so often.

"I can't go up there until I know what it is and how to deal with it and it is vital that this _man_ upstairs doesn't realize who and what I am. So no sonicing. No advanced technology. I can only use this cause we're on a scramble," he pointed to the earpiece.

He jumped off the bed, completely ignoring Jaime. "To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish."

"You already do," Jaime grumbled.

"Go to bed, Jemma. You're a grouch when you're tired," he replied, still facing the wall.

She scowled at him and turned away as he continued his conversation with Amy. "All I've got to do is pass as an ordinary human being. Simple. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Mmm, what a laugh," Jaime muttered.

She flinched as something landed on top of her. Whatever it was, the Doctor had thrown it at her. Jaime groaned and buried her head under her pillow. She could feel the bags growing under her eyes.

Suddenly, another large crash came from upstairs. She heard Amy shouting from the Doctor's earpiece and the clocks around the room started going crazy.

"Interesting. Localized time loop. Time distortion. Whatever's happening upstairs is still affecting you."

Amy quit screaming when the noises from upstairs stopped. Jaime groaned internally as the Doctor sat at the foot of the bed. Was some sleep too much to ask for? The Doctor continued loudly talking to Amy, occasionally tossing things on the bed.

_This is going to be a long night..._

*** * * ***

The next morning, Craig was impatiently waiting for the Doctor to get out of the bathroom. Currently, he was in the shower and singing very loudly. "Doctor!" He knocked on the door. "How long are you going to be in there?"

_"Oh, sorry, I like a good soak!"_

Craig groaned quietly. He turned to see Jaime sleepily stumbling into the room. "Morning, Craig," she yawned.

"Good morning, Jemma."

Jaime groaned. "Um, I don't go by Jemma. I _really_ prefer Jaime. Don't listen to... dad." If she'd have to keep up the act of them being father and daughter, she'd have to go around calling him dad.

"Oh... sorry."

"No, no, it's fine."

Craig looked at her, concern written all over his face. He noticed the deep bags under her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem... out of it."

"I just... had to put up with the weirdo all night, that's all. I'm used to it."

Jaime sleepily trudged back to their room and promptly collapsed on the bed. Suddenly, a loud thump came from upstairs. "What the hell was that?" Craig wondered.

_"What did you say?"_ the Doctor asked.

"I'm just going to go upstairs, see if he's okay."

_"Sorry?"_

The Doctor leaned his head out of the shower curtain, realizing that Craig had gone. Jaime on the other hand, was just about to fall into a peaceful sleep when she heard a second loud thump. This time, from outside the door.

Jaime jumped out of bed and threw the door open. What she didn't expect to see was the Doctor run out of the bathroom, a towel loosely wrapped around his waist and carrying an... electric toothbrush?

The Doctor ran to the staircase, Jaime racing after him. She stopped in the doorway as Craig was calmly walking down the stairs. "What happened, what's going on?" The Doctor pointed the toothbrush upstairs, mistaking it for the sonic.

"Is that my toothbrush?" Craig laughed.

"Correct. You spoke to the man upstairs?"

"Yeah," Craig said as if it was the most normal thing out there.

"What did he look like?"

"More normal than you do at the moment, mate. What are you doing?"

"I thought you might be in trouble."

Craig laughed. "Thanks. Well, if I ever am, you can come and save me... with my toothbrush."

The phone rang and Jaime moved out of the way for Craig to answer it. The Doctor walked up the stairs suspiciously. Before Jaime could protest, a woman with blonde hair came through the door. She turned around and let out a startled gasp when she laid eyes on the Doctor. "Oh! Uh, hello."

"Ah! Hello! The Doctor. Er... you must be Sophie," he guessed, kissing Sophie on the cheeks. He moved past Jaime who awkwardly smiled.

"Hello, I'm Jaime," she introduced, stretching out her hand. "The Doctor's... daughter."

Sophie did a double take. "His daughter?"

"I often think the same thing."

Jaime quickly went into the flat before Sophie could question anymore. Craig was on the phone, whispering to the Doctor. "We've got a match today, pub league. We're one down if you fancy it."

"Pub league? A drinking competition?"

"No... football. Play football?"

"Football! Yes, blokes play football! I'm good at football, I think."

"You've saved my life!" Craig smiled before hanging up the phone. Jaime looked at Sophie and couldn't help but notice her eyes wandering on the Doctor. "Hey, Soph," Craig greeted.

"Hey, I thought I'd come early and meet your new flatmates."

"Do you play, Sophie?" the Doctor asked.

"No, Soph just stands on the sidelines. She's my mascot," Craig replied with pride.

"I'm your mascot? _Mascot?" _

"Well, not _my_ mascot. It's a football match, I can't take a date."

"I didn't say I was your date," she countered.

"Neither did I."

Jaime winced. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. She grabbed the Doctor's arm before smiling at the two awkwardly. "We'd better get dressed." She quickly pulled the Doctor out of the room.

She started back to their room only to be pushed out by the Doctor. She was about to protest, but he claimed the room to get dressed first. Jaime heard him talking to Amy the whole time. It took every ounce of will power to keep herself awake.

She barely got any sleep last night. Since the Doctor never sleeps, she only got to sleep when he was gone for an hour. The rest of the night, he made sure that keeping her awake was a priority.

*** * * ***

Sophie was growing attached to Jaime. While they were all walking to the park, the two of them managed to strike up a conversation. Jaime had to cover up a lot while she was trying to not look suspicious while looking around for her real dad.

She had the same story about her mother. How she died in a plane crash and the Doctor was left to take care of her. Sophie pitied her, a poor teenager who lost her mother. Jaime was thankful that she managed to cover her baggy eyes with loads of concealer.

"What are you actually called, what's your proper name?" Craig asked the Doctor.

"Just call me the Doctor."

"I can't say to these guys, 'Hey, this is my new flatmate, he's called the Doctor'."

"Why not?"

"Cause it's weird."

Craig dropped the subject when they met up with the rest of the team. "Hello, I'm Craig's new flatmate. I'm called the Doctor."

"Alright, Doctor. I'm Sean. Where are you strongest?"

"Arms."

Jaime face palmed. "He means position on the field," Craig clarified, already feeling embarrassed.

"Not sure. The front? The side? Below?"

"Are you any good, though?" Sean asked.

The Doctor twirled the ball on his finger. "Let's find out."

Jaime was surprised how good he was, honestly. He was the only one who made the game interesting. Sophie stood on the sidelines with her, cheering for the Doctor. When the crowd started chanting his name, Sophie looked over to see Jaime with her eyes shut. Was she falling asleep standing up? Sophie nudged her gently.

"Jaime? Hey, Jaime, love." She sucked in a sharp breath before standing up straight. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine, just a bit bored," she insisted.

All throughout the game, Sophie had to keep nudging the poor girl. What was she doing all night? After the game, Jaime was more than happy to move.

"You are _so_ on the team!" Sean praised. "Next week, we've got the Crown and Anchor. We'll annihilate them!"

"Annihilate? No. No violence, do you understand me? Not while I'm around, not today, not ever. I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm... and you basically meant beat them in a football match, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Sean stuttered.

"Lovely. What sort of time?"

Craig opened a can of beer, accidentally spraying himself, making everyone laugh. Suddenly, the exact same thing happened again. And again. Time was repeating itself.

"Amy?" the Doctor asked into his earpiece before running off. Jaime tensed up until everything stopped. The Doctor stood off by himself, talking to Amy. Jaime hoped this wasn't going to last much longer. She just wanted to be back in the TARDIS, safe with the Doctor and Amy. Was that too much to ask for?

*** * * ***

Craig knocked on the Doctor and Jaime's bedroom door. The Doctor opened it quickly, holding a traffic cone. "Hello... _flatmate."_

Craig noticed Jaime propped up against the wall, head tilted to the side as she dozed off. "Hey, man. Um... listen, Sophie's coming round tonight and I was wondering if you could give us some space."

"Oh, don't mind us. You won't even know we're here." A loud sort of explosion went off from upstairs. "That's the idea," the Doctor whispered before slamming the door in Craig's face.

Jaime jumped as the Doctor continued working on his _scanner_. "Yes, perfect! What a beauty!" She tried her hardest to stay awake to see if he needed her help. Of course, he didn't notice just how tired she was. It's normal for humans to always be tired, isn't it?

*** * * ***

The Doctor never did end up giving Craig and Sophie their space. He doesn't know the meaning of personal space. Naturally, he ended up joining the two in the living room, Sophie discussing what it was she wanted to do in the world.

"Cause life can seem pointless, Doctor. Work, weekend, work, weekend. And there's six billion people on the planet doing pretty much the same."

"Six billion people? Watching you two at work, I'm starting to wonder where they all come from."

"What? What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"So, the call center's no good then. What do you really want to do?"

Sophie smiled. "Don't laugh. I only ever told Craig about it. I want to work looking after animals. Maybe abroad. I saw this orangutan sanctuary on telly."

"What's stopping you?" the Doctor asked, messing around with the wires strung up around him.

"She can't," Craig cut in, "You need load of qualifications."

"Yeah, true. Plus it's scary. Everyone I know lives round here. Like, Craig got offered a job in London, better money, didn't take it."

"What's wrong with staying here? I can't see the point of London," Craig insisted.

With a floor creak, Jaime stumbled into the room, taking a moment to lean against the door frame. She looked worse than she did earlier. She stumbled into the room before noticing everyone staring at her. "Oh... um, s-sorry, I didn't know anyone else was in here."

"It's alright," Sophie reassured. Jaime rubbed her eyes sleepily and continued her trip to the fridge. "Are you okay, love?" Sophie asked with genuine concern.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Peachy..." she mumbled, nodding off as she opened the fridge.

The Doctor redirected himself. "Well, Sophie, perhaps that's you, then. You'll just have to stay here, secure and a little bit miserable until the day you drop. Better than trying and failing, eh?"

"You think I'd fail?" she asked in disappointment.

"Everybody's got dreams, Sophie. Very few are going to achieve them, so why pretend?" He took a sip of his wine before promptly spitting it back into the glass. "Perhaps, in the whole, wide universe, a call center is where you should be."

"Why are you saying that? That's horrible!" she spat in disgust.

"Is it true?"

"Of course it's not true. I'm not staying in a call center all my life. I can do anything I want!" The Doctor turned to her with a knowing smile. "Oh, yeah! Right. Oh, my God! Did you see what he just did?" she laughed.

Craig looked confused. "No, sorry. What's happening? Are you going to live with monkeys now?"

A loud clang came from the fridge as Jaime nearly dropped the glass of milk she poured for herself. "Jaime, are you sure you're alright?" Craig asked.

"Fantastic. Couldn't be better. I'll just pop off to bed. Sorry for interrupting." She left the room as fast as she could, ignoring her glass.

*** * * ***

The Doctor had the entire bed occupied with his "scanner", making Jaime take a pillow for her temporary bed on the floor. It was past midnight and she was still wide awake.

"Right. Shield's up. Let's scan!" He worked away at the strangest scanner Jaime had ever seen, made with everyday objects such as an umbrella, bicycle wheel, and a lamp.

"It can't be! It's too normal," the Doctor complained. He continued complaining and arguing with Amy which made him sound crazy. To anyone else, he was arguing with himself.

If not having a bed was bad enough, Jaime hadn't eaten for a good portion of the day. It wasn't the greatest idea considering the medical condition she was just getting over. If there was anything she wanted more than sleep, it was food. But even if she was awake, she didn't want to wake up Craig.

The Doctor didn't notice her slip out of the room. She knew she'd be "close to death" if she missed more sleep. Jaime heard Craig's door close as soon as she stepped out. What is he doing up at this hour? What is _she_ doing up at this hour?

The sofa was the most comfortable thing Jaime experienced all day. Even if she didn't have a blanket, the pillow was good enough for her. When would this be over? All she could do was pray that they'd be home soon.

*** * * ***

Jaime jumped awake at the sound of the door slamming open. It felt like days had passed since she was awake. She groggily sat up as Craig stormed in, looking absolutely fed up. The sight of it almost scared her. He made eye contact with her and immediately cooled down.

"Jaime, what are you doing there?" If anything was wrong earlier, he looked fine now.

"Er... I was just tired. I'm fine now," she yawned.

"Didn't you sleep last night?"

"I did," she said moving her feet to the floor. "Once I came out here that is."

"Why, was the Doctor keeping you up?"

Jaime groaned. "He's always taking up space. He takes up personal space because he _has_ no personal space," she grumbled.

She rubbed her eyes when she heard Craig rummaging around in a drawer. She looked up to see him holding a key and going for their door. She jumped up quickly. "No, Craig, don't!"

Too late. He unlocked the door and swung it open. Jaime watched him gape at the sight of the Doctor's invention on the bed. "What the hell..."

"T-This is just uh... part of his science phase he's going through. He... um goes through something like this at least once a week," Jaime quickly lied.

Craig just stared at it before closing the door. Jaime sighed as quietly as possible. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit her. Before she knew it, Craig was holding her up. "Jaime? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing. I'm fine."

A loud growl from her stomach said otherwise. "Jaime, have you been eating?" She looked down bashfully. Craig took her back to the sofa, quickly getting her some food. She felt ashamed for neglecting herself. Especially after her thing in New York.

A little while later, she heard the front door open and the Doctor speaking to someone. Well, it sounded like that someone was a cat. Whenever he would talk, he'd get a meow in return. Craig looked like he was about to blow a fuse.

He threw the door open to see the Doctor sitting on the steps with a cat. "Oh, hello."

"I can't take this anymore. I want you to go," Craig said as calm as possible. He grabbed the Doctor's bag full of money and held it out to him. "You can have this back and all."

"What have I done?" the Doctor asked.

"For a start, talking to a cat."

"Lots of people talk to cats," he answered, throwing the bag behind him, causing money to fly everywhere.

"And everybody loves you and you're better at football than me and my job and now Sophie's all, 'Oh, monkeys, monkeys!' And then..." Craig ran to the bedroom as Jaime shrank into the sofa.

"...there's that!" He threw open the door, pointing to the scanner. The Doctor ran over, trying to get Craig away from the room.

"It's art! A statement on modern society. Ooh, ain't modern society awful?"

"Because of that, you made Jaime sleep out here! She couldn't eat! What kind of dad does that?" Craig questioned angrily.

The Doctor went silent. He hadn't even realized how tired Jaime was. He kept her from eating when she was already so delicate. He may not be her father, but he should've known better.

"Me and you, it's not going to work," Craig continued. "You've been here three days, they've been the three weirdest days of my life."

"Your days will get much weirder if we go."

"I thought it was a good weird. It's not, it's bad weird. I can't do this anymore!"

"I can't leave this place. I'm like you, I can't see the point of anywhere else. Madrid? Ha! What a dump! We _have_ to stay."

"No, you don't, you have to leave!"

"We can't go!"

"Just get out!" Craig yelled.

"Right! Only way. I'm going to show you something, but sh, really, shh!" He grabbed Craig's jacket as Jaime meekly peeked over the sofa back.

"Oh, I am going to regret this. Okay, right. First, general background." Without a warning, the Doctor head butted Craig, and they both yelled in pain. Suddenly, Craig gaped at the Doctor.

"You're a..."

"Yes," the Doctor said, clutching his forehead.

"From-" "Shh!"

"You've got a TARDIS!"

"Yes. Shh! Eleventh. Right... okay, specific detail." He head butted Craig again as they yelled in pain once more. Jaime decided she'd had enough and quickly ran over to them.

"Was that really the smartest thing to do?" she questioned.

"It was the easiest," the Doctor groaned.

"Easiest way to get brain damage!"

Craig stood up, gaping at the Doctor again. "You saw my ad in the paper shop window."

"Yes, with this right above it," the Doctor said, holding up the note. "Which is odd because Amy hasn't written it yet. Time travel, it _can_ happen."

"That's a scanner!" Craig marveled. "You've used... non-technological technology of Lammasteen."

The Doctor clapped his hand over Craig's mouth. "Shut up!" he shouted. Jaime rolled her eyes at his stupidity when he rubbed his head again. "I am never, never doing that ever, _ever_ again. Amy?" he asked into his earpiece.

"That's Amy Pond!" Craig gaped in wonder.

"Got those plans yet?" the Doctor asked, ignoring Craig.

_"Still searching for them,"_ Amy answered.

"I've worked it out with psychic help from a cat."

_"Cat?"_

"Yes. I know he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up, hence the stain-"

"From the ceiling!" Craig shouted.

"Well done, Craig. And you, Miss Pond, nearly get thrown off into the Vortex."

Suddenly, a loud crash came from upstairs. "People are dying up there!" Craig shouted. Then he started repeating it, like what happened at the park.

"Someone's up there." The Doctor ran past Jaime and to the steps. She hesitantly followed him, and Craig stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Craig, come on. Someone's dying up there." The Doctor's voice softened when they all noticed Sophie's keys in Craig's door.

"It's Sophie. It's Sophie that's dying up there, it's Sophie!" Before they barged into the flat, Craig asked, "Where's Sophie?"

"Wait, wait! Amy?"

_"Are you upstairs?"_ she questioned.

"Just going in."

_"You can't be upstairs."_

"Of course I can be upstairs!"

_"No! I've got the plans. You cannot be upstairs, it's a one story building. There _is_ no upstairs!" _

Everyone froze. How could there be no upstairs? The Doctor threw the door open and they froze at the sight. The room was large and dark with a large console in the middle.

"Oh. Oh, of course!" the Doctor marveled, stepping in. "The time engine isn't in the flat. The time engine _is_ the flat. Someone's attempt to build a TARDIS."

"No, there's always been an upstairs," Craig insisted.

"Has there? Think about it."

"Yes. No. I don't-"

"Perception filter. It's more than a disguise, it tricks your memory."

Suddenly, a scream rang out. "Sophie!" Craig shouted.

"Craig!" she cried, her hand outstretched to a glowing panel.

"It's controlling her. It's willing her to touch the activator!"

"It's not going to have her!" The Doctor tried to stop it, but to no avail, Sophie screamed in agony as her hand touched the panel. They all shouted, trying to free her, but nothing worked.

Suddenly, the panel flashed and Sophie fell to the floor unconscious. "What? Why'd it let her go?" the Doctor questioned as Craig cradled her.

Suddenly, a holographic man flashed in front of the Doctor. Jaime's breath hitched. _"You will help me,"_ the man ordered.

"Crashed ship, let's see. Hello, I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue. Please state the nature of your emergency," the Doctor stated.

_"The ship has crashed. The crew are dead. A pilot is required."_

"You're the emergency crash program," the Doctor realized, "A hologram. What? You've been luring people up here so you can try them out?"

Suddenly, the hologram starting rapidly switching between an old man, a young man, and a little girl. _"You will help me, you will help me, you will help me."_

Sophie woke up with a start. "Craig, what is this? Where am I?"

"Human brains aren't strong enough, they just burn, but you're stupid, aren't you? You just keep trying," the Doctor insulted.

_"17 people have been tried. 6,000,400,026 remain."_

"Seriously, what is going on?" Sophie asked in horror.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" the Doctor shouted, "The top floor of Craig's building is an alien spaceship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions? No, good."

"Yes, I have questions," Sophie persisted.

"Save it for later," Jaime retorted.

_"The correct pilot has now been found," _the hologram recited.

"Yes, I was worried you'd say that," the Doctor sighed.

Suddenly, a beam of light latched onto the Doctor, pulling him towards another glowing panel. "_The correct pilot has been found. The correct pilot has been found."_

"What's happening?!" Jaime shouted.

"It's pulling me in! I'm the new pilot!"

_"Could you do it? Could you fly the ship safely?"_ Amy asked.

"No, I'm way too much for this ship. My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does." His hand lurched forward and it was inches from the panel. "No... worst choice ever, I promise you! Stop this!" the Doctor protested.

_"Doctor, it's getting worse!"_ Amy cried.

"It doesn't want everyone. Craig, it didn't want you!" Jaime said.

"I-I-I spoke to him and he... said I couldn't help him!"

"It didn't want Sophie before today, but now it does. Why, what's changed?" The Doctor cried out in pain. "I gave her the idea of leaving! It's a machine that needs to leave. It wants people who want to escape and you don't want to leave, Craig. You're Mr. Sofa Man!"

Jaime turned to Craig. "Craig, you can shut down the engine. Put your hand on the panel and concentrate on why you want to stay!"

"Craig, no!" Sophie protested.

"Will it work?" Craig asked.

"Yes!" the Doctor cried.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Is that a lie?"

"Of course it is!" Jaime cried.

"It's good enough for me. Geronimo!" he shouted before placing his hand on a panel. He cried out in pain as the Doctor was released.

He ran to his side. "Craig, what's keeping you here? Think about everything that makes you want to stay here! Why don't you want to leave?" He slapped Craig to get an answer out of him.

"Sophie! I don't want to leave Sophie! I can't leave Sophie! I love Sophie!"

Jaime looked at Sophie who gaped at Craig. "I love you, too, Craig, you idiot!" She put her hand on the same panel as him causing sparks to fly.

"Honestly, do you mean that?" he asked.

"Of course I mean it. Do you mean it?"

"I've always meant it. Seriously, though, do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"Oh, not now, not again! Craig, the planet's about to burn! For God's sake, kiss the girl!" the Doctor shouted.

Craig grabbed the back of Sophie's head and pulled her in for a loving kiss. Jaime smiled as their hands were released from the panel.

_"Doctor! You've done it,"_ Amy laughed, _"You've done it! Oh, now the screen's just zeros... now it's minus ones, minus twos, minus threes. Big yes!"_

Suddenly the hologram appeared, violently switching forms. "Big no."

"Did we switch it off?" Craig asked.

"Emergency shutdown. It's imploding. Everybody out, out, out!"

The Doctor pushed Jaime out as the four of them quickly ran down the stairs and out the door. Once in the street, they watched as the second floor turned into a spaceship that quickly beamed off. People walked by as if nothing had happened at all.

"Look at them," Craig gaped. "Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished."

"Perception filter. There never was a top floor."

*** * * ***

Jaime was the first one out of their room, the Doctor right behind her. They both walked in to the main room when the Doctor pulled Jaime away once they saw Craig and Sophie kissing on the sofa.

The Doctor set their keys on the dresser as Jaime sadly looked around the flat. Even though she hadn't known them long, she was going to miss Craig and Sophie.

"Oi!" Craig called.

"What, you two trying to sneak off?" Sophie asked as they both stood.

"Yes, well, you were sort of... busy," the Doctor said.

Craig picked up the keys, handing them to the Doctor. "I want you to keep these."

"Thank you. Cause we might pop back soon, have another little stay," the Doctor stated with a smile on his face.

Craig laughed. "No, you won't. I've been in your head, remember? I still want you to keep them."

Jaime smiled warmly. "Thank you, Craig."

"Sophie," the Doctor spoke, signaling their departure. "Now, then. 6,000,400,026 people in the world. That's the number to beat."

*** * * ***

Amy practically attacked Jaime once they found the TARDIS. Jaime smiled widely, and the Doctor immediately ran to his console.

"Back in time! You need to go to the paper shop, leave that note for me," he told Amy.

"Right little matchmaker, aren't you? Can't you find me a fella?" she pouted.

"Oh, rectifier's playing up again," the Doctor groaned, "Hold on. You write the note and I'll change that will."

"You got a pen?"

"Make sure it's a red pen."

Amy began digging through the Doctor's blazer that he left on the seat. Suddenly, she pulled out a small red box that had a ring inside. "Hey, Jaime. Do you know anything about this?" she asked.

Jaime turned around and tensed up when she saw the box. It was Amy's engagement ring from Rory. "Er, no. Never seen it before."

Amy stared at it blankly which scared Jaime. What would the Doctor think if he knew she'd seen it?

*** * * ***

Amy was busy looking at the ring she found in the Doctor's pocket. It was beautiful, and it definitely cost a lot of money. The strangest part was that it seemed familiar, but Amy was positive she'd never seen it before.

Jaime walked in from the corridor, catching a glance at the Doctor on the opposite side of the console as usual. He couldn't live without his precious TARDIS. Jaime awkwardly stood on the other side, fidgeting with her pale blue shirt.

One of her buttons were undone and she was having a difficult time buttoning it with her short fingernails. Even worse, it was one of _those_ shirts that have tiny holes.

She wouldn't have noticed the Doctor approach if his gaze wasn't so intense. Jaime looked up slowly to see the Doctor with a sad and almost uncomfortable look on his face.

Jaime couldn't think of what to say, so she forced a smile. He couldn't return it and that worried her. She quickly played all of the possible situations in her mind. She didn't think she did anything bad. At least not recently.

The Doctor warily cleared his throat as Jaime felt her ears burn in embarrassment. "I want to apologize," he whispered.

Jaime did a double take. "Wh... what for?"

"For making you sleep on the sofa... in Craig's flat."

Suddenly, Jaime felt guilty. She shouldn't because it wasn't her fault. But she couldn't help but feel bad.

"Doctor, it's nothing. You don't have to apologize-"

"Yes, I do, Jaime. You were my responsibility and I was too busy to think twice. I shouldn't have ignored you."

Jaime smiled sadly as he stared at his feet. "Doctor, it's alright. Really, it is. It's not like I was in any danger-"

"You didn't eat," he said quickly, making her breath hitch. "Because of my actions, you couldn't eat. I didn't hesitate to think you'd be fully healed after we found you. It's all silly really. I forget how important sleep is for humans."

Jaime smiled. "Puny humans like me, huh?" she joked.

His eyes widened, pulling her into his arms. "No, no, no, of course not."

Jaime tensed at the contact before smiling. "I was kidding, Doctor. But really, it's alright. I forgive you even though it's not your fault."

He smiled his big grin before jumping back to fly the TARDIS to their next destination. Before he did, he hung his head over the edge to see Amy under the console. "Vavoom!"

"Va-_what?"_ she asked, putting the ring back in her pocket.

"I can't believe I've never thought of this before, it's genius!" the Doctor cried, flipping levers as Amy joined them, "Right! Landed, come on."

"Where are we?" Amy asked. Jaime stood at her side, in a better mood now that the awkward conversation was over.

"Planet One. The oldest planet in the universe. There's a cliff of pure diamond and, according to legend, on the cliff, there's writing. Letters 50 feet high, a message from the dawn of time, and no one knows what it says cause no one's ever translated it. Till today."

"What happens today?" Jaime asked, a smile creeping up her face.

"Us," the Doctor answered, poking her nose. "The TARDIS can translate anything. All we have to do is open the doors and read the very first words in recorded history."

He outstretched his hands, Amy and Jaime each taking one as he lead them to the doors. Jaime marveled at the sight, vast green trees and tall rock structures. She turned her head to face the cliff that had the writing on it.

_Hello, Sweetie_.

Underneath the words appeared to be some sort of coordinates. Amy gasped with a large smile. "Vavoom."

The Doctor and Amy knew what it meant, but Jaime was growing more confused by the second. "Wait... _Hello, Sweetie_? What's that supposed to mean?"

"That means..." Amy turned to face her with a grin. "We get to see an old friend."

*** * * ***

The three of them stepped out of the TARDIS after the Doctor followed the coordinates. Jaime was excited and a bit nervous to meet their so-called friend Amy talked about. Someone called River Song.

"Right place?" Amy asked the Doctor as she closed the TARDIS doors.

"Just followed the coordinates on the cliff face. Earth. Britain. 1:02 am. No, pm." He stopped abruptly, causing Jaime to run into Amy. "No. AD."

Jaime looked to see a large campsite at the bottom of the hill. The area was made up of hundreds of small tents with people roaming around.

"That's a Roman legion," Amy stated incredulously.

"Well, yeah. The Romans invaded Britain several times during this period."

"Oh, I know. My favorite topic at school. _Invasion of the Hot Italians_."

Jaime made a face. "How'd you do with that title?"

"I got marked down," she admitted.

Suddenly, a Roman man ran towards them, panting from running up the hill. He stopped in front of the Doctor before saluting. "Hail, Caesar!"

Jaime covered her mouth quickly to avoid laughing out loud. The Doctor just stared down at him. "Hi."

The Roman dropped to his knee. "Welcome to Britain. We are honored by your presence."

"Well, you're only human. Arise... Roman person."

"Why does he think you're Caesar?" Amy asked.

The Roman stood up and Jaime noticed that he had a red smudge on the side of his lips. Was that... lipstick? "Cleopatra will see you now."

The Doctor smiled in amusement as he followed the Roman down the hill. The girls joined him as he walked into a tent with thick, red curtains. The Doctor paused as he saw Cleopatra sitting on a chair, looking all regal as she should with black hair and gold clothing.

"Hello, sweetie."

"River! Hi," Amy greeted. Jaime was more confused than ever. So, this _wasn't_ Cleopatra?

The Doctor looked at her with an almost disappointed look. "You graffitied the oldest cliff face in the universe."

"_You_ wouldn't answer your phone," she countered. Jaime smirked. She already liked her.

River grabbed a roll of parchment without so much as glancing at Jaime or Amy. Her focus was on the Doctor as she handed him the parchment.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's a painting. Your friend Vincent."

The Doctor snatched it before laying it down on a table. "One of his final works. He had visions, didn't he? I thought you ought to know about this one," River explained.

The Doctor unrolled the painting. "Doctor?" Amy asked. "Doctor, what is this?"

Jaime could tell by the style that it truly was painted by Vincent. The intricate painting showed the TARDIS. And it appeared to be exploding.


	10. The Pandorica Opens (#1)

"Why's it exploding?" Amy asked. Under any other circumstance, the painting would've looked beautiful. Of course it's beautiful, it came from Vincent Van Gogh.

"I assume it's some kind of warning," River spoke. The Doctor sat in a nearby chair, rubbing his face in confusion.

"What, something's going to happen to the TARDIS?" Amy asked.

"It might not be that literal," River explained without looking up. "Anyway, this is where he wanted you. Date and map reference on the door sign."

"Does it have a title?" the Doctor asked.

"The Pandorica Opens."

"Pandorica? What is that?" Jaime asked meekly.

River looked up after hearing a third voice. For the first time, she noticed Jaime and her eyes lit up. Jaime was confused. She would've remembered her. Maybe River heard about her from the Doctor or Amy.

River cleared her throat. "A box, a cage, a prison. It was built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe."

"It's a fairytale, a legend. It can't be real," the Doctor insisted, pacing around the tent.

"If it is real, it's here and it's opening," River said in exasperation. "And it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding."

The Doctor pulled out several scrolls and placed them on the table. Jaime couldn't help, but notice River glancing at her. "Hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map."

"No," the Doctor agreed. "But if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe, you'd want to remember where you put it."

*** * * ***

No one told Jaime where they were going. All she knew was that they were now riding horses to wherever the Pandorica was buried. She had never ridden a horse before, causing her to pray she wouldn't fall off.

She managed to keep up with the Doctor, Amy, and River as they rode across the countryside. She couldn't figure out how people enjoyed horse riding. Every bounce made her wince in discomfort.

After what felt like forever, they reached their destination. Jaime almost laughed in disbelief when she saw the famous landmark that marked where the Pandorica was. Stonehenge.

Jaime happily jumped off her horse once they stopped. They raced up to the ancient stones that still looked as ancient as before. The Doctor started sonicing each and every rock in hope of finding the entrance.

"How come it's not new?" Jaime asked River who was also scanning the area.

"Because it's already old. Been here thousands of years. No one knows exactly how long."

"Okay, this Pandorica thing," Amy started, "Last time we saw you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of Byzantium."

"Spoilers!" River exclaimed, putting a finger to her lips.

"No, but you told the Doctor you'd see him again when the Pandorica opens," Amy said in confusion.

"Maybe I did. But I haven't yet. But I will have."

Does that mean River recognized Jaime from the future? So, I'm in the Doctor's future. That's a relief, she thought.

"Doctor, I'm picking up fry particles. Everywhere. Energy weapons discharged on this site."

The Doctor paused his scanning. "If the Pandorica is here, it contains the mightiest warrior in history. Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it."

He kneeled down and leaned his head on a rock. "We need to get down there."

*** * * ***

That night, Jaime was bored from doing nothing. She sat on the dry ground while leaning against one of the standing stones. River placed some sort of clamps on a particular rock as bright lanterns illuminated the area.

The Doctor, River, and Amy surrounded the one rock as River punched some buttons on her scanner. Jaime jumped up as she heard the sound of creaking. The rock slid away to reveal a staircase leading underground.

"The underhenge."

The Doctor stepped down first with his sonic in hand. As Amy was about to go down, Jaime grabbed her hand quickly. If anything was worse than the dark, it was a creepy staircase.

Amy threw her a quick, unsure smile before leading her down. At the bottom of the staircase, the tunnel opened up into a large cave like space. The Doctor sonicked a torch until it caught fire. The corners were still pitch black and Jaime grasped Amy's hand tighter.

Two large double doors lay ahead, covered in cobwebs. River joined the Doctor with a lit torch, and they gently pushed the doors open. Inside was an even older looking room with cobwebs and roots hanging from the ceiling. Light streamed in from various corners and Jaime peeked over the Doctor's shoulder.

The most magnificent sight was a large box sitting in the middle. It was dark gray and had intricate circular designs on the side. "It's a Pandorica," the Doctor marveled.

"More than just a fairytale," River smirked.

He stepped forward hesitantly, as if he couldn't believe this box existed. He gingerly placed his hand on the box with admiration in his eyes.

"There was a goblin, or a... trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world."

"How did it end up in there?" Amy asked, softly dropping Jaime's hand.

"You know fairytales. A good wizard tricked it." River handed her torch to Amy. "I hate good wizards in fairytales." She turned to face Jaime. "They always turn out to be him."

Jaime smiled shyly as River turned away, bringing out her scanner. Amy slowly swayed her torch. "So, it's kind of like Pandora's Box, then? Almost the same name."

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor asked from his investigation.

"The story. Pandora's Box with all the worst things in the world in it. That was my favorite book when I was a kid." The Doctor abruptly stopped and faced her, deep in concentration. "What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Your favorite school topic, your favorite story. Never ignore a coincidence. Unless you're busy, in which case, always ignore a coincidence."

Jaime rolled her eyes. "Can you open it?"

"Easily. Anyone can break into a prison. But I'd rather know what I'm going to find first."

"You won't have long to wait," River said. "It's already opening. There are layers and layers of security protocols in there and they're being disabled, one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside."

"H-How long do we have?" Jaime asked, worry flooding her mind.

"Hours at the most."

"What kind of security?" the Doctor asked.

"Everything. Deadlocks, time stops, matter lines. What could need all that?

"Think of the fear that went into making this box. What could inspire that fear?" he seemed to be asking himself.

"So why would it start to open now?" River asked the Doctor.

"No idea."

"How could poor Vincent have known? He won't be born for centuries," Jaime pointed out.

The Doctor ran his sonic over the walls. "The stones! These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone. The Pandorica is opening!"

"Doctor, everyone everywhere?" River asked.

"Even poor Vincent heard it in his dreams," he rambled. "But what's in there, what could justify all this? Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?"

"Doctor, you said everyone could hear it. So who else is coming?" River silenced his rambling. "Oh..."

Amy panicked. "Oh? Oh what?"

River drew a deep breath as she started working. "Okay, if it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal."

"Doing it," the Doctor shouted.

"Doing what?" Amy asked.

"Stonehenge is transmitting, it's been transmitting for a while... so who heard?" River asked.

"Okay, should be feeding back to you now. River, what's out there? Getting anything?"

"Give me a moment."

Jaime stood away from the others, afraid of being in the way. "River, quickly, anything?" the Doctor barked.

River looked at her scanner, a look of fear crossing her face. "Around this planet, there are at least 10,000 starships."

Amy scoffed. "At least?"

"10,000, 100,000, 1 million, I don't know. There's too many readings."

"What kind of starships?" the Doctor asked in a calmer tone.

Suddenly, a croaky voice echoed throughout the cave. "Maintaining orbit." The atmosphere in the room got darker. The voices continued speaking to each other as everyone's faces fell. Jaime tensed up, not recognizing the nasty voices.

"Daleks. Those are Daleks," Amy gulped.

"Wh-What are Daleks?" Jaime asked shakily.

As the voices ceased croaking to each other, the Doctor snapped into action. "Yes, okay. Okay, okay, okay. Dalek fleet. Minimum, 12,000 battleships armed to the teeth. Ahhh! But we've got surprise on our side! They'll never expect four people to attack 12,000 Dalek battleships. Cause we'd be killed instantly. So it would be a fairly short surprise."

He smacked the sonic against his head. "Forget surprise."

"Doctor, Cyberships," River announced.

"No, Dalek ships, listen to them. Those are Dalek ships," the Doctor insisted.

"Yes, Dalek ships and Cyberships."

Jaime was starting to regret ever climbing on that horse.

"Well, we need to start a fight, turn them on each other. That's easy. It's the Daleks. They're so cross-"

"Sontaran," River announced. "Four battle fleets."

Jaime gulped. She knew the Sontarans. They ran into them when she first started going on adventures in the TARDIS. They had to be her least favorite alien species so far.

"Sontarans! Talk about cross, who stole all their handbags?" the Doctor joked.

"Terileptil. Slitheen. Chelonian. Nestene. Drahvin. Sycorax-"

"Amy..." Jaime cried softly, backing up in fear. She didn't mean to sound like a child, but this was overwhelming. River continued listing off the monsters, none of them Jaime knew. This only scared her more.

Amy ran over and pulled Jaime close, who almost started having a panic attack. Amy shushed her, trying her hardest to calm her down even though she was panicking as well.

"They're all here. For the Pandorica," River finished.

The Doctor faced the Pandorica in fear. "What are you? What could you possibly be?"

Suddenly, the sound of spaceships outside sent him running out of the room. Amy pulled Jaime with her, back up to ground level. Thousands of space ships orbited Stonehenge. It looked like one of those stereotypical alien invasions from old movies.

"What do we do?" Amy asked quietly.

"Doctor, listen to me! Everything that ever hated you is coming here tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it. Doctor, this once, just this one time, please, you have to run," River ordered.

"Run where?" he asked incredulously.

"Fight how?" she countered.

The Doctor pulled out a small set of binoculars, looking across the dark countryside. "The greatest military machine in the history of the universe."

"What is? The Daleks?" Amy asked, rubbing Jaime's arm.

"No. No, no, no, no, no. The Romans!"

*** * * ***

River went back to the camp on horseback. She was carrying out a plan that, once again, Jaime didn't know about. She was stuck with Amy and the Doctor at the Pandorica, waiting for River to return.

"So, what's this got to do with the TARDIS?" Amy asked.

"Nothing, as far as I know."

"But Vincent's painting... with the TARDIS exploding, is that going to happen?" Jaime asked meekly.

"One problem at a time. There's force field technology inside this box. If I can enhance the signal, I could extend it all over Stonehenge. Could buy us half an hour," the Doctor explained.

"What good is half an hour?" Amy said snidely, hands on her hips.

"There are fruit flies, live on Hoppledom 6 that live for 20 minutes and they don't even mate for life." Jaime rolled her eyes. The Doctor stopped his work as he realized what he said. "There was going to be a point to that. I'll get back to you."

Jaime glanced back at Amy who was fiddling with something in her pocket. She squinted at it, her breath hitching when she recognized the small box with the ring.

"Are you proposing to someone?" Amy asked the Doctor, holding it up.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, not looking up.

"I found this in your pocket," she claimed, showing him the ring.

The Doctor's face dropped when he laid his eyes on it. "No. No, no, that's er... a memory."

He looked at Jaime sternly, as if knowing she had something to do with it. She quickly shook her head, even though she knew Amy found it.

"A friend of mine, someone I lost." He tried to grab it, but Amy dodged his reach.

"It's weird, I feel... I don't know, something," shr said, staring at the ring intently.

The Doctor suddenly looked sad. "People fall out of the world sometimes, but they... they always leave traces. Little things we can't quite account for. Faces in photographs, luggage, half eaten meals... rings."

She stared at him, deep in thought. Jaime prayed Amy would somehow remember Rory. She wasn't complete without him.

"Nothing is ever forgotten, not completely," the Doctor said, also hoping she'd remember, "And... if something can be remembered, it can come back."

Jaime straightened up. Could Rory really come back? She stepped over until she was next to Amy who abruptly closed the box. "So, was she nice? Your friend?"

Jaime sighed. It was worth a try. The Doctor smiled sadly. "Remember that night you flew away with me?"

Amy cleared her throat. "Of course I do."

"And you asked me why I was taking you and I told you there wasn't a reason. I was lying," he said timidly.

"What, so you did have a reason?"

"Your house."

Amy rolled her eyes. "My house."

"It was too big, too many empty rooms. Does it ever bother you, Amy, that your life doesn't make any sense?"

Suddenly, sparks flew as something started shooting. Jaime shrieked before immediately dropping to the ground. She looked up just in time to see a metal arm on the ground shooting red beams at them. The Doctor grabbed Jaime's arm, pulling her to her feet and dragging her behind the Pandorica. "What was that?" Amy breathed, standing rigidly next to Jaime.

"Okay, I need a proper look. Get to draw its fire, give it a target," the Doctor answered.

"Don't you dare," Jaime seethed.

The Doctor winced. "Sorry." He ran out in front of the arm before she could stop him. "Look at me, I'm a target!"

Jaime cringed at the sound of the arm shooting and the Doctor's quick footsteps. "What is that?" she yelled to him hiding behind a rock.

"Cyber arm. Arm of a Cyberman."

"And what's a Cyberman?" Amy asked.

"Oh, sort of part man, part robot. The organic part must have died off years ago, now the robot part if looking for, well... fresh meat."

Jaime's eyes widened. "What, us?"

"Yeah, it's just like being an organ donor, except you're alive and sort of... screaming."

"Gee, thanks for the visual!" she huffed.

"I need to get behind it, could you draw its fire?" he asked Amy.

"Like you did?" she seethed in disbelief.

"You'll be fine if you're quick, it's only got one arm, literally." The Doctor grinned, giving her a double thumbs up.

Amy started screaming before running out in front of the arm. Jaime peeked over and watched as the Doctor tackled the arm and disabled it with the sonic.

"Doctor?" she asked, walking out from the Pandorica.

"Scrambled its circuits, but stay where you are. It could be bluffing."

"Bluffing? It's an arm!" Amy protested, walking forward.

"I said, stay where you are!" he shouted.

Amy glared at him before taking a few steps back as Jaime leaned against the Pandorica. Suddenly, Amy let out a scream before falling to the ground. Jaime's eyes widened in horror as the arm shocked the Doctor, sending him unconscious. "Doctor!"

She looked over to see a robotic head laying on the ground. She guessed this was the Cyberman's head. Thick wires came out of its neck and wrapped around Amy's leg. Jaime panicked for a split second before running over to help her.

Before she could, two of the wires wrapped around Jaime's arms along with Amy's. Amy managed to grab the head by the handles where its ears should be, lifting it up to eye level.

Suddenly, a line of electricity traced down the middle of its face as if cutting it in half. The halves opened up to reveal a shrunken skeletal head. Amy screamed as the head fell on the floor, Jaime jumping away.

The sides of the face started slamming together and Amy struggled to keep it from her face. Jaime jumped out of her trance and tried pulling the head away. She slammed it against the rock until it let go.

Jaime panted for air as the head scuttled away. "Doctor?" Amy asked the still unconscious alien. Suddenly, the head released a dart and lodged itself in her neck. "Amy!" Jaime cried. Amy winced as she pulled it out.

A robotic voice rang out. "You will be assimilated."

"Yeah? You and whose body?" Amy countered. She was starting to sway on her feet and Jaime grabbed her arm. The dart must've been some sort of tranquilizer.

The sound of heavy footsteps rang out. Suddenly, a silver body that was missing its head and an arm walked out. The one hand picked up the head before placing it back on its body. It truly looked like a robot now.

It reached out towards Amy, and Jaime started backing up, not knowing what to do. Amy grabbed one of the torches and started swinging it at the Cyberman. She was more tired than before, her swings making her look drunk.

Amy's sight got fuzzy as she saw something dash in front of her. As her vision was blocked, she swung out again, this time hitting something. She heard the faint sound of a voice crying out before the Cyberman knocked it to the ground.

The Cyberman got closer as Amy struggled to see what she hit. She swung the torch a few more times before falling backwards through a set of double doors. The doors closed abruptly before the Cyberman could get in. "Doctor?! Jaime?!"

The Cyberman struggled to open the doors as Amy took cover in the dark room. Suddenly, it went silent. She quietly stood up and pressed her ear to the door. "Doctor?"

She was about to speak again when a sword suddenly came through the panel next to her face. She backed up as the doors swung open, revealing the Cyberman's re-decapitated head and a sword through its chest.

She looked up to see a person standing in the doorway. The man was dressed as a Roman soldier. "Who... who are..." she struggled to ask.

The Roman took off his helmet, revealing himself as none other than Rory Williams. "Hello, Amy."

The dart took its full effect as Amy passed out in Rory's arms. He picked her up gently before laying her down on a nearby slab. He couldn't believe it. After all this time, he made his way back to Amy. His beloved Amy.

"Sir, the man's coming round," a Roman said, appearing in the doorway.

"Amy?! Jemma?" the Doctor called out before running in. "Where's Amy?"

"She's fine, Doctor. Just unconscious," Rory said calmly.

The Doctor pushed him out of the way before quickly scanning Amy. "Yes, she's sedated, that's all. Half an hour, she'll be fine. Okay, Romans, good. I was just wishing for Romans, good old River. How many?"

Rory was shocked at the Doctor for not recognizing him, but didn't push it. "50 men up top, volunteers. What about that thing?" he pointed to the Cyberman.

"50? Not exactly a legion," the Doctor grumbled.

"Your friend was very persuasive, but, er... it's a tough sell."

"Yes, I know that, Rory, I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious. But we need everything we can get."

Rory was about to protest, but didn't speak as the Doctor rambled. "Okay, Cyberweapons," he said, picking up two large guns. "This is basically a sentry box. So headless wonder here was a sentry. Probably got himself cuffed up by the locals. Never underestimate a Celt."

"Doctor-"

"Hush, Rory, thinking. Why leave a Cyberman on guard? Unless it's a Cyberthing in the box. But why would they lock up on of their own? Okay, no, not a Cyberthing, but what, what? No, I'm missing something obvious, Rory! Something big, something right slap in front of me, I can feel it!" he said, getting close to Rory's face.

"Yeah, I think you probably are."

Suddenly, the Doctor dropped one of the guns. "Oh! Jemma! Where has she run off to now?" he cried, leaving the room.

Rory watched him leave before he stopped, suddenly dropping the gun. He approached Rory with a curious look on his face. He stopped right in front of him before poking his chest. Yep, definitely real.

"Hello again."

"Hello," Rory replied in just as much shock.

The Doctor suddenly looked uncomfortable. "How've you been?"

"Good. Yeah, good. I mean... Roman."

"Rory, I'm not trying to be rude... but you died," he said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, I know. I was there."

"You died and then you were erased from time. You didn't just die, you were never born at all, you never existed."

"Erased? What does... that mean?"

The Doctor looked Rory up and down as if he couldn't quite understand. "How can you be here?" he whispered.

"...I don't know. It's kind of fuzzy."

"Fuzzy," the Doctor marveled.

"Well, I died and turned into a Roman. It's very distracting!" Rory turned away to Amy's unconscious body, running a hand through her hair. "Did she miss me?" he asked fondly.

The Doctor looked down in shame, but Rory couldn't see. How was he going to react to Amy forgetting him?

Suddenly, the sound of someone groaning in pain hit their ears. The Doctor whirled around and left the room, Rory right behind him. The Doctor looked to his left and saw Jaime lying on the ground next to the wall. Her upper arm was burned as if something was thrown at her.

"Jemma," he breathed, kneeling beside her. He lifted her head up as she gained consciousness.

She winced as the pain in her arm became known. "What happened?"

"It's alright," he answered, helping her to her feet. Jaime lifted her uninjured arm up to her head. He gently moved her sleeve away to examine her burn. "Jemma, who did this?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's Jaime, and Amy did it. She didn't mean to."

"Amy?" another voice asked. Jaime thought she was hearing things as she whipped her head around.

She almost passed out again as she laid eyes on Rory Williams... the Roman?

"Rory? Rory, is that really you?"

He laughed. "At least someone recognized me."

"Oi!" the Doctor protested.

Jaime threw herself into Rory's arms before she could stop herself. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

He hugged her back, careful of her burned arm. "Jaime, you look so much better than when I last saw you. You look like you were never sick."

She beamed before suddenly becoming confused. "But... how are you here? You died..."

Rory just shrugged. "I'm not sure myself. Now, what do you mean Amy did this to you?" he asked, suddenly serious.

"Well, she didn't mean to. She was drugged by that dart... thing and she didn't know what she was doing. She was just trying to protect us from that Cyberman."

Suddenly, a loud rumbling came from up top. The Doctor's enemies were here. He took off running as Rory reluctantly left Amy's side. Jaime turned to run after the Doctor, but stumbled into Rory's side.

Rory wrapped an arm around her waist before pulling her out of the room. Other Romans were spread out around the room, gazing at the strange box. The Pandorica truly looked like it was opening, the symbols on the side glowing an eery green.

"What is it? What's happening?" Rory asked.

"The final phase. It's opening."

The Pandorica continued creaking as it opened. Rory grasped Jaime's waist tightly before running up to ground level. More Romans surrounded the area, all looking up at the sky fearfully.

Different ships were whizzing around, giving off different light beams. There were so many space ships present that Jaime felt there truly was no hope. Clearly, this was beyond the Doctor's power to stop.

Suddenly, a loud amplified voice rang throughout Stonehenge along with an echoed thud.

"Sorry, sorry, dropped it. Hello, Stonehenge!" the Doctor shouted. "Who takes the Pandorica, takes the universe. But bad news, everyone..."

Jaime looked over her shoulder to see the Doctor jump onto a rock that lay on the ground. "Cause guess who?! Ha!"

She gulped. This was only going to make things worse.

"Listen, you lot, you're all whizzing about, it's really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute? Because I. Am. Talking!"

Surprisingly, everything quieted down except for the sound of engines. Rory kept a tight grip on Jaime, afraid she'd fall if he let go. "The question of the hour is, who's got the Pandorica? Answer: I do. Next question, who's coming to take it from me?"

The Doctor was clearly gloating, but it didn't look like it was making anyone mad for the moment. "Come on! Look at me, no plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else. I don't have anything. To. Lose!"

Jaime winced, waiting for someone, something to protest, but nothing happened. Maybe this was going the right way after all.

"So if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship with all your silly little guns and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day I ever stopped you. And then, and then, do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first."

Suddenly, all the ships made their way away from Stonehenge. They took their lights away and disappeared. Jaime sighed in relief. Would they really stop that easily?

The Doctor tossed the object he was using as a microphone to Rory. "That'll keep 'em squabbling for half an hour."


	11. The Pandorica Opens (#2)

They were back at the Pandorica and Jaime stood off to the side as Rory and the Doctor talked. She now had a makeshift bandage on her arm where she got burned.

"If I can stop whatever's in this box from getting out, then they'll all go home."

The Doctor suddenly frowned and Jaime followed his gaze. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what was about to happen. "Um... Rory, you better brace yourself," she whispered.

He gave her a weird look before Amy stumbled past him, holding her head. Rory opened his mouth until he realized she didn't so much as look at him.

"Oh, my head," she complained to the Doctor. He checked her over as Jaime sympathetically patted Rory's arm.

"Just your basic knockout drops," the Doctor explained. "Get some fresh air, you'll be fine."

"Is it safe up there?"

"Not remotely, but it's fresh."

"Fine," she grumbled. She turned away to almost run right into Rory. "Oh, you're the guy, yeah, the one who did the... swordy thing."

Jaime could see Rory's heart dropped. "Yeah," he replied with no emotion.

"Well, thanks for the... swording. Nice swording." She patted his shoulder before awkwardly squeezing past him.

"No problem," Rory replied sadly. "My men are up there. They'll... they'll look after you."

"Good. Love a Roman," she claimed as she walked back outside.

Jaime frowned when she saw Rory's heartbroken face. "She doesn't remember me. How can she not remember me?" he questioned the Doctor.

"Because you never existed." Before Rory could reply, the Doctor turned to the Pandorica, running his sonic around it. "There are cracks. Cracks in time. There's going to be a huge explosion in the future, on one particular day. And every other moment in history is cracking around it."

"So how does that work? What kind of explosion? What exploded?" Rory questioned eagerly.

The Doctor stopped quickly, deep in thought. The kind of look that made Jaime feel he was keeping something from them.

"Doesn't matter, the cracks are everywhere now," he insisted, "Get too close and you can fall right out of the universe."

"So I fell through a crack and now I was never born?"

"Basically," the Doctor replied simply.

"How did I end up here?"

"I don't know, you shouldn't have," the Doctor said, dropping everything to approach Rory. "What happened? From your point of view, what physically happened?"

"I was in a cave, with you and Amy. I was dying... and then I was just here, a Roman soldier. A proper Roman. Head full of Roman... stuff. A whole other life. Just here, like I'd woken up from a dream. I started to think it was a dream. You and the girls and Leadworth. Then today, in the camp, the men were talking about the visitors. The girl with the red hair," Rory marveled sadly.

"I thought you'd come back for me. But she can't even remember me."

"Oh, shut up," the Doctor retorted.

He reached into his pocket before tossing the engagement ring box to Rory. Jaime smiled, knowing he remembered it. "Go on. Go get her," she encouraged.

Rory only looked at the Doctor in confusion. "But I don't understand. Why am I here?"

"Because you are," the Doctor explained. "The universe is big. It's vast and complicated and... ridiculous and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles, and that's the theory. 900 years, never seen one yet. But this would do me."

Jaime stepped forward putting a comforting hand on Rory's shoulder. She offered him a soft smile which he couldn't help but return. "Now get upstairs. She's Amy and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history can take it."

Rory hesitated before nodding, making his way back to the ground level. Jaime desperately hoped Amy would remember him. She wasn't complete without her Rory. And Rory wasn't complete without his Amy.

For quite a few minutes, she stood off to the side, watching the Doctor constantly sonicing the Pandorica. More Romans joined them around the Pandorica. None of them uttered a word.

Jaime debated on whether she should see if Amy and Rory were alright or not. She brushed off her doubt, turning back to the Doctor. He was using some device to talk to someone and the conversation didn't sound very pleasant.

She only caught bits and pieces such as, "Something's using her memories, Amy's memories." and "They might think they're real. The perfect disguise."

When he said that, Jaime noticed him glancing at the Romans as if something was wrong. Really wrong. The Romans aren't real people? Then what are they?

She discovered it was River when the Doctor starting calling her name. She pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning on, running to his side. "Doctor, what is it? Where's River?"

The last thing Jaime heard about River was she was going back to the Roman's camp. What was happening now? The Doctor ignored Jaime as River started speaking again.

"You're flying it wrong," he grumbled.

He kept pacing, so Jaime just watched him do so. He started barking orders at River, telling her to shut down the TARDIS. How'd she get to the TARDIS? And she can fly it?

A high pitched noise rang out, causing everyone to plug their ears in pain. Jaime gasped as the Roman shoulders slumped over as if they were dolls. The Doctor ignored them, still shouting at River.

"There are cracks in time. I've seen them everywhere and they're getting wider. The TARDIS exploding is what causes them, but we can stop the cracks ever from happening if you just land her!"

Suddenly, a loud creaking noise filled the room as light shined from the Pandorica. It was opening. If it wasn't so bright, Jaime would've been able to see inside it.

"Well now. Ready to come out, are we?" the Doctor mocked.

Suddenly, the Roman soldiers turned towards the Doctor, stiff as wood. They almost looked like robots, but they were humans. The perfect disguise.

Jaime looked back to see the Roman's fingers leave the hand, revealing gun-like weapons. They made their way to the Doctor as Jaime backed into the shadows.

Two of the Romans turned to face her as the others took the Doctor hostage. The two Romans quickly made their way over to her, and Jaime's eyes widened in fear. "Jemma, run!" the Doctor shouted.

Not having to be told twice, Jaime bolted for the steps, running to find Rory and Amy. She was glad to be back above ground. Jaime halted at the top, seeing Amy and Rory together. Rory looked like he was in pain and Amy had tears running down her face.

She talked quietly, neither of them taking notice of the girl behind them. Suddenly, Jaime heard the faint sound of whirring and Rory's hand looked like the other Roman's, with the gun showing.

She was about to run forward when the sound of an electronic gunshot rang out. Amy gasped for air and Rory's face flooded with despair. "Amy!" Jaime cried out.

Suddenly, two pairs of strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her back to the Pandorica. "No! Amy!"

All she could do was watch as Rory laid a still Amy on the ground. Jaime kicked at the Romans, but their literal iron grip wasn't letting her go. Jaime was back in the stuffy air underground, but this time, different creatures filled the room.

Jaime didn't recognize any of them beside the Sontarans and Cybermen. The others were completely new to her. They all seemed to be gathered around the Pandorica's entrance as something was being forced into it.

As Jaime got closer to the entrance, she recognized the thing in the Pandorica as the Doctor. They were strapping him into a chair inside. The sight of him only made her thrash around more. "Doctor! Doctor!" she cried out.

"Leave her alone, she's got nothing to do with this!" he shouted.

She watched helplessly as the Doctor was trapped in the Pandorica. Why were they doing this to him? Wasn't some monster supposed to be in there?

Jaime desperately tried to think of some sort of plan, but she couldn't keep her thoughts straight. The Doctor was trapped and Rory was mourning the death of Amy. Her world was falling apart once more.

Once the Doctor was fully strapped in, everyone stepped back. She looked at the Doctor, pleading with her eyes, but he didn't say anything to her. "You lot, working together. An alliance," he marveled to the other creatures. "How is that possible?"

A croaky robotic voice filled the room, causing Jaime to jump. "The cracks in the skin of the universe." She recognized the voice as a Dalek.

"All reality is threatened," a Sontaran spoke.

"All universes will be deleted," a Cyberman added.

"What? And you've come to me for help?" the Doctor asked.

"No! We will save the universe from you!" the Sontaran said angrily. Jaime noticed they always sounded angry, no matter what they were saying.

"From me?"

"All projections correlate. All evidence concurs. The Doctor will destroy the universe." the Dalek croaked.

The Doctor started panicking. "No, no, no. You've got it wrong."

The Cyberman continued. "The Pandorica was constructed to ensure the safety of the alliance."

"A scenario was devised from the memories of your companion."

"A trap the Doctor could not resist," the Sontaran said.

"The cracks in time are the work of the Doctor. It is confirmed." the Dalek said.

"No. No, no. Not me, the TARDIS, and I'm not in the TARDIS, am I?"

"Only the Doctor can pilot the TARDIS."

"Please, listen to me-"

"You will be prevented."

"Total event collapse! Every sun will supernova at every moment in history. The whole universe will never have existed! Please, listen to me!" the Doctor shouted.

"Seal the Pandorica," a Cyberman ordered.

"No! Doctor, no!" Jaime cried, thrashing around more.

"No! Please listen to me! The TARDIS is exploding right now and I'm the only one who can stop it! Listen to me!"

Jaime shouted in despair as the Pandorica was sealed with a loud thud. "No! Doctor! Let him go! He's only trying to help!" Suddenly, something hit her over the head, successfully knocking her unconscious.

*** * * ***

This is the story of how the universe ended.

As Jaime Woods was left to die beside the Pandorica, River Song was trapped in the TARDIS. Just when she got the doors open, she came face to face with a rock wall.

"I'm sorry, my love." As she turned back, the console blew up, taking everything up in flames. The TARDIS was no more.

At Stonehenge, Rory Williams held his fiancée's broken body in his arms. Just when Amy Pond remembered him, she had to die. And it was his fault.

As the Doctor stayed trapped in the Pandorica with no sign of escaping, the world around them collapsed. All of the suns exploded, like the Doctor said. The universe faded from existence, taking the earth with it.


	12. The Big Bang (#1)

"So the universe ended. You missed that. In 102 A.D."

Rory Williams sat in the spot where he killed his fiancée only minutes before. The Doctor was trapped in the Pandorica, Jaime and River were missing, and Amy was dead. What else was there to do?

Even though he knew she couldn't hear him, Rory continued talking. "I suppose this means you and I never get born at all. Twice, in my case."

Rory looked down at Amy sadly, her body limp in his arms. "You would have laughed at that," he whimpered, on the verge of tears. "Please laugh." He didn't know why he expected her to say something snarky. Wishful thinking, he supposed.

"The Doctor said the universe was huge and ridiculous and sometimes there were miracles. I could do with a ridiculous miracle about now."

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in front of Rory. He looked up to see the Doctor holding a mop and... was that a fez on his head?

"Rory! Listen, she's not dead. Well, she is dead, but it's not the end of the world. Well, it is the end of the world. Actually, it's the end of the universe. Oh, no. Hang on."

The Doctor pressed a button on a device on his wrist and disappeared as quickly as he came. "Doctor? Doctor!"

Suddenly, he reappeared, but he no longer had the mop. "You need to get me out of the Pandorica."

"But you're not in the Pandorica," Rory said in confusion.

"Yes, I am. Well, I'm not now, but I was back then. Well, back now from your point of view, which is back then from my point of view. Time travel, you can't keep it straight in your head."

The Doctor held up his sonic before handing it to Rory. "It's easy to open from the outside. Just point and press. Now go."

He left Rory holding the sonic, trying to comprehend what just happened. Before he could, the Doctor appeared once more. "Oh, and when you're done, leave my screwdriver in her top pocket. Good luck!"

"What do you mean?! Done what?" Rory cried, even though the Doctor was gone.

Feeling he had no other choice, Rory left Amy on the ground, draping a scratchy blanket over her. Rory unwillingly went back to the Pandorica. The strange part was that the aliens and Romans were turned to stone, as if they were thousands of years old.

As Rory looked around at all the Doctor's enemies, he noticed a figure on the ground. Rory got closer to see that the figure was Jaime, alive and breathing. She had a small bruise on the side of her head, mostly covered by her hair.

She still had a pulse, which confused him. How was she still alive? How were they all still alive and not turned to stone?

Rory thought it'd be best to leave her be. The Doctor would know what to do next. He hesitantly took the sonic in hand, pointing it at the Pandorica like the Doctor instructed. With a press of the button, the Pandorica's walls moved, revealing the Doctor inside.

His restraints were removed and he stared at Rory in wonder. "How did you do that?"

"You gave me this," Rory answered, holding up the sonic.

He pulled out his own sonic from his pocket. "No, I didn't."

"You did, look at it."

The Doctor got up from his seat, stepping out of the Pandorica. He held out his sonic, gently tapping it against the one Rory held. They both flinched as sparks flew at the connection. "Temporal energy. Same screwdriver at different points in its own time stream, which means it was me who gave it to you. Me from the future. I've got a future, that's nice."

The Doctor paused at the sight of a Dalek turned to stone. "That's not."

"Yeah, what are they?" Rory asked.

"History has collapsed. Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like after-images," he explained, examining the Romans and Cybermen. "Echoes, fossils in time. The footprints of the never-were."

"Er, what does that mean?"

"Total event collapse. The universe literally never happened."

"So, how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?" Rory asked, more confused than ever.

"Nothing. Eye of the storm, that's all. We're just the last light to go out." Suddenly, he looked up. "Jemma. Amy. Where are they?"

Rory looked sheepish. What was the Doctor going to say about Amy? Pushing away the thought, he stepped aside, showing the Doctor the unconscious Jaime.

He quickly kneeled beside her as Rory stood off to the side. She seemed alright, not counting the bruise on her head. The Doctor lifted her head, gently prodding her awake. "Come on, Jaime," he said softly.

He held her tightly once she slowly stretched her stiff muscles. He smiled as her eyes fluttered open. "Ah, Jemma Woods! Welcome back to the land of living. Regarding the current situation, that is quite an accomplishment."

Jaime groaned as she lifted a hand up to her bruise. "Oh, God, my head," she sighed groggily. The Doctor stood up, leaving her to stand on her own. She pushed herself to her feet before her eyes landed on Rory. She gasped softly, fear crossing over her face. Rory looked down in shame.

The Doctor noticed their awkward encounter, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could, Jaime unknowingly interrupted him. "Rory, where's Amy?"

*** * * ***

The Doctor, Jaime, and Rory were now gathered around Amelia Pond's body. Jaime was angry at Rory, but decided against showing her emotions. This was not the time to be rash.

The Doctor pulled back the blanket draped over Amy, kneeling beside her.

"I killed her," Rory stated, pain in his voice.

"Oh, Rory," the Doctor grumbled. Jaime wanted to say something, but kept her mouth shut. Rory looked so distraught that Jaime couldn't bring herself to stay mad at him.

"Doctor, what am I?"

"You're a Nestene duplicate. A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity," the Doctor said nastily.

"But I'm Rory now. Whatever was happening, it's stopped. I'm Rory!"

"That's software talking."

"Can you help her?" Rory asked when the Doctor scanned Amy with the sonic. "Is there anything you can do?"

"Yeah, probably, if I had the time," he stated, getting to his feet.

"The time?!"

"All of creation has just been wiped from the sky. Do you know how many lives now never happened, all the people who never lived? Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe."

Rory turned the Doctor around before punching him square in the jaw. "She is to me!" Rory shouted at the Doctor who laid on the ground. He popped back up, laughing hysterically.

"Welcome back, Rory Williams!" The Doctor held his jaw while making popping noises. "Sorry, had to be sure. Hell of a gun-arm you're packing there."

He moved over to Amy's body while Rory gaped at him. "Right, we need to get her downstairs. And take that look off your plastic face. You're getting married in the morning!"

*** * * ***

Back at the Pandorica, the Doctor started strapping Amy into the same chair he was trapped in. Jaime didn't know why, but didn't say anything. "So you've got a plan, then?" she asked.

"Bit of a plan, yeah. Memories are more powerful than you think and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Grew up with a time crack in her wall, the universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got a bit more than they bargained for. Like you," he directed to Rory. "Not just your face, but your heart and your soul."

The Doctor placed both of his hands on the sides of Amy's face. "I'm leaving her a message for when she wakes up, so she knows what's happening." He stepped out of the Pandorica and sealed it with the sonic.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" Rory questioned.

"Saving her. This box is the ultimate prison. You can't even escape by dying. It forces you to stay alive."

"But she's already dead," Rory protested.

"She's mostly dead. The Pandorica can stasis-lock her that way. Now all it needs now is a scan of her living DNA and it'll restore her."

"Where's it going to get that?" Rory asked as the Doctor looked at his watch.

"In about 2,000 years." The Doctor started strapping something onto his wrist. Jaime joined Rory, both of their faces dropping in shock.

"She's going to be in that box for 2,000 years?!"

"Yeah, but we're taking a shortcut. River's vortex manipulator. Rubbish way to time travel, but the universe is tiny now. We'll be fine."

"So, hang on, the future's still there, then? Our world?"

"A version of it. Not quite the one you know. Earth alone in the sky. Let's go and have a look." He held up his wrist with the vortex manipulator on it. "You two put your hands there. Don't worry, should be safe."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Rory said, gazing at the Pandorica.

"She'll be fine. Nothing can get into this box."

Rory scoffed. "You got in there."

"Well, there's only one of me. I counted," the Doctor said smugly.

"This box needs a guard, I killed the last one."

"No, Rory, no. Don't even think about it."

"She'll be all alone."

"She won't feel it."

"You bet she won't!"

"2,000 years, Rory. You won't even sleep, you'd be conscious every second. It would drive you mad."

"Will she be safer if I stay? Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer," he threatened.

"Rory-"

"Answer me!"

The Doctor sighed with an exasperated look. "Yes. Obviously."

"Then how could I leave her?"

The Doctor chuckled darkly. "Why do you have to be so... human?"

"Because right now, I'm not." He walked over to the Pandorica, ready to stand guard. The Doctor started pushing away buttons on his device. Jaime stood beside him, ready to see Amy again.

"Listen to me. This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but not immortal. I have no idea how long you'll last. And you're not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals. You can't heal or repair yourself."

The Doctor grabbed Jaime's hand, placing it on his wrist. "So, for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of-"

*** * * ***

"-trouble." The setting darkened dramatically. They appeared to be in a museum at night. In front of them rolled a Dalek made of stone. The Doctor and Jaime turned to see Amy, alive as ever. A shorter ginger stood next to Amy curiously. "Oh! Two of you? Complicated."

"Exterminate! Weapons systems restoring."

The Doctor pushed Jaime ahead before grabbing both of the Amy's hands. "Come along, Ponds." The Doctor pulled them behind the Pandorica to Jaime before running to a scene of wax people.

"What are we doing?" Jaime hissed as the Doctor bumped into one of the figures. It caused a fez from a wax figure's head to fall which the Doctor caught.

"Well, we are running into a dead end, where I'll have a brilliant plan that basically involves not being in one."

A light shone down from the hallway behind the Dalek. "What's going on?" a voice rang out, holding a torch.

The Doctor peered around the Pandorica. He looked back at the Amys and Jaime. "Get out of here. Go! Just run!"

Of course, they didn't listen. The Dalek turned towards the night guard. "Drop the device!"

"It's not a weapon. Scan it. It's not a weapon and you don't have the power to waste," the Doctor shouted.

"Scans indicate intruder unarmed."

"You think?" Jaime watched as the night guard dropped his torch and shot the Dalek with a weapon that looked like a gun... inside his hand?

"Vision impaired!" the Dalek cried as it spun out of control. The Doctor, Jaime, and the two Amys stepped out from behind the Pandorica once the Dalek stopped moving.

"Amy?" The night guard was none other than Rory Williams.

Amy had never looked so relieved. "Rory..."

Jaime smiled when Amy ran towards him, embracing him for the first time in 2,000 years. The Doctor ran over to them when they started kissing. "Yeah, shut up, cause we've got to go, come on!" he said snidely.

Rory ignored him. "I waited. 2,000 years, I waited for you."

"No, still shut up," Amy said before kissing him again.

"Well, somebody didn't get out much for 2,000 years."

The Doctor looked down when young Amy tugged on his sleeve. "I'm thirsty. Can I get a drink?"

"Oh, it's all mouths today, isn't it?" he sighed, putting the fez on her head.

She took it off, shoving it back into his arms. Jaime looked up when the Doctor was staring at the Dalek. "Doctor, what is it?"

"The light! The light from the Pandorica, it must have hit the Dalek."

Suddenly, Jaime heard a whirring noise as the Dalek started moving. "Out, out out!" The Doctor pushed Amy and Rory out while Jaime made sure young Amy kept up. She wasn't dying on her watch. Once they were in a room with a large staircase, the Doctor shut the door on the Dalek.

"So, 2,000 years. How did you do?" the Doctor asked Rory.

"Kept out of trouble."

The Doctor looked down at the fez before putting it on his head. Jaime stared at him. "Doctor, why do you have a fez?"

"Why not?" he answered, grabbing a mop to barricade the door.

"The mop!" Rory shouted, making Jaime jump. "That's how you looked all those years ago when you gave me the sonic."

"Ah! Well, no time to lose, then." The Doctor punched a button on the vortex manipulator before disappearing. He appeared a moment later, sticking the mop in the door.

"How can he do that? Is he magic?" little Amy asked Jaime.

"Er, not exactly." Jaime smiled at her amazed look when the Doctor reappeared.

"Right... let's go, then." He started running up the stairs before stopping. "Wait! Now I don't have the sonic. I just gave it to Rory 2,000 years ago."

He disappeared again and when he reappeared, he reached into Amy's top pocket, pulling out his sonic. "Off we go! No, hang on."

He suddenly looked at little Amy with a curious look. "How did you know... to come here?"

She reached into her pocket, pulling out a wrinkled museum brochure and sticky notes. The Doctor looked at them before smiling, tossing them behind him. "Ah, my handwriting. Okay!"

He grabbed a nearby brochure, a pad of sticky notes, and a red pen. He disappeared again, this time to deliver the brochure, place the sticky notes in the right places, and take the drink she was sipping on earlier.

He reappeared, handing her the drink. "There you go, drink up!"

"What is that? How are you doing that?" Amy asked, stopping him again.

"Vortex manipulator. Cheap and nasty time travel. Very bad for you. I'm trying to give it up."

"Where are we going?" Jaime asked.

"The roof." As he turned to leave, a flash of light appeared at the top of the staircase.

The Doctor appeared, but Jaime almost didn't recognize him. His clothes were burnt and torn, his hair was a mess, and he looked physically drained.

She gasped as he rolled down the steps before landing in front of them. The Doctor started scanning his body that appeared.

"Doctor, it's you. How can it be you?" Rory asked.

"Doctor, is that you?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, it's me," the Doctor said solemnly. "Me from the future."

Suddenly, the future Doctor sat up, whispering in their Doctor's ear before collapsing. This time, he didn't move.

"Are you... I mean, is he... is he dead?" Amy asked.

The Doctor seemed to be in a trance. "What?" He got to his feet. "Dead? Yes, yes. Of course he's dead. Right, I've got 12 minutes, that's good," he said, running up the stairs.

"12 minutes to live? How is that good?!" Amy shouted.

"You can do loads in 12 minutes; suck a mint, buy a sledge, have a fast bath, come on, the roof!"

"We can't leave you here, dead," Rory said.

"Oh, good. Are you in charge now? So, tell me, what are we going to do about Amelia?"

Jaime looked behind herself to see little Amy's cup sitting on the bottom step. Rory and Amy got to their feet. "Where did she go?"

"There is no Amelia. From now on, there never was. History is still collapsing."

"How can I be here if she's not?" Amy asked.

"You're an anomaly. We all are. We're all just hanging on at the eye of the storm, but the eye is closing, and if we don't do something fast, reality will never have happened. Today, just dying is a result. Now, come on!"

Amy froze in her spot as the Doctor took off running. "He won't die. Time can be rewritten, he'll find a way. I know he will."

Rory placed his jacket over the Doctor's body as Jaime moved to stand beside Amy. The Doctor shouted from down the hallway. "Move it! Come on!"

*** * * ***

Up on the roof, Jaime was surprised to see how light it was. "What, it's morning already? How did that happen?" Amy questioned.

"History is shrinking. Is anybody listening to me?" the Doctor grumbled. "Universe is collapsing. We don't have much time left."

The Doctor jumped on a platform, sonicking a post with a satellite dish on it. "What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Looking for the TARDIS."

"But the TARDIS exploded."

The Doctor grabbed the dish that was disconnected from its post. "Okay, then I'm looking for an exploding TARDIS."

"I don't understand. So, the TARDIS blew up and took the universe with it. But why would it do that? How?" Amy asked as the Doctor jumped onto the edge of the roof.

"Good question for another day. The question for now is... total event collapse means that every star in the universe never happened. Not one single one of them ever shone. So, if all the stars that ever were are gone, then what... is that?"

Jaime looked in the direction he pointed, showing a big glowing ball in the sky. "Like I said, I'm looking for an exploding TARDIS."

"But that's the sun," Rory argued.

"Is it? Well, here's the noise that sun is making right now."

The Doctor held up the dish, putting his sonic to the base. A noise could be heard, but it started out very faint. It grew louder, becoming recognizable as the TARDIS' engines.

"That's my TARDIS burning up. That's what's been keeping the earth warm."

"Doctor, there's something else," Rory said, "There's a voice."

Amy gave him a look. "I can't hear anything."

"Trust the plastic."

The Doctor sonicked the dish until a faint whispering became louder. "I'm sorry, my love."

Jaime's eyes widened in realization. "That's River. How can she be up there?" she asked.

"It must be like a recording or something," Rory answered.

"No, it's not a recording. Of course- the emergency protocols. The TARDIS has sealed off the control room and put her into a time loop to save her. She is right at the heart of the explosion."

*** * * ***

River worked to get the TARDIS doors open. Flipping levers and connecting wires, she believed the doors would open. She ran down the steps and to the double doors. Sure enough, they opened... revealing a solid stone wall.

"I'm sorry, my love." Just as she looked back, the console sparked again, this time triggering a much larger explosion. This was the end of River Song.

River worked to get the TARDIS doors open. Flipping levers and connecting wires, she believed the doors would open. She ran down the steps and to the double doors. Sure enough, they opened... revealing a solid stone wall.

"I'm sorry, my love." Just as she looked back, the console sparked, this time triggering a much larger explosion. This was the end of River Song.

River worked to get the TARDIS doors open. Flipping levers and connecting wires, she believed the doors would open. She ran down the steps, but was met with something she didn't expect to see.

"Hi, honey. I'm home."

The Doctor smiled at her smugly from his spot against the doors. River glanced at her watch before giving him a look. "And what sort of time do you call this?"

*** * * ***

Amy, Rory, and Jaime looked at the TARDIS as it continued to burn when they heard a zapping noise from behind. "Jaime! Amy!"

The three of them whirled around to see the Doctor with River under his arm. "And the plastic Centurion?" River questioned.

"It's okay, he's on our side," the Doctor assured.

"Really?" River exclaimed in disbelief. "I dated a Nestene duplicate once. Swappable head. It did keep things fresh. Right then, I have questions. But number one is this. What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?" she asked the Doctor.

"It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool."

River gave the girls a look. Faster than light, Amy grabbed the Doctor's fez before tossing it off the roof. Before it disappeared, River shot it, making the fez explode into pieces.

Jaime laughed, but it was cut short with an "Exterminate!". She gasped as a Dalek came into view. Those things can fly?

"Run, run! Move, move, go! Come on!" the Doctor cried, ushering everyone to the door.

Jaime heard it shoot and looked back in time to see the Doctor block the shot with the dish. Once inside, he sealed the door shut as the others waited at the bottom of the ladder.

"Doctor, come on," River urged.

"Shh! It's moving away, finding another way in. It needs to restore its power before it can attack again."

He moved down the ladder, standing on the floor with the rest of them. "Now, that means we've got exactly... four and a half minutes before it's at lethal capacity."

"How do you know?" Rory asked as he went down the steps.

"Because that's when it's due to kill me."

River did a double take. "Kill you? What do you mean, kill you?"

"Oh, shut up, never mind. How can that Dalek even exist?" the Doctor rambled as they made their way through the museum. "It was erased from time and then it came back. How?"

"You said the light from the Pandorica," Rory said.

"It's not a light, it's a restoration field, but never mind. Call it a light," the Doctor said sarcastically.

"That light brought Amy back, but how could it bring back a Dalek when the Daleks have never existed?"

The Doctor looked at Amy as if for answers. "Okay, tell us," she said.

"When the TARDIS blew up, it caused a total event collapse, a time explosion. And that explosion blasted every atom in every moment of the universe, except..." he said, stopping once again.

"Except inside the Pandorica," Amy realized.

"The perfect prison. And inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was. In theory, you could extrapolate the whole universe from a single one of them, like cloning a body from a single cell. And we've got the bumper family pack."

"No, no, too fast, I'm not getting it," Rory sighed.

"The box contains a memory of the universe, and the light transmits the memory. And that's how we're going to do it."

"Do what?" Jaime asked meekly.

"Relight the fire. Reboot the universe. Come on!"

He started off again and all Jaime could do was follow. She was still confused, but just let him do his job. He seemed to know what he was doing, for now.

"Doctor, you're being completely ridiculous," River said, "The Pandorica partially restored one Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life form properly, how is it going to reboot the whole of reality?"

"What if we give it a moment of infinite power? What if we can transmit the light from the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?"

"Well, that would be lovely, dear, but we can't, because it's completely impossible."

"Ah, no, you see, it's not. It's almost completely impossible," he claimed, bopping her nose, "One spark is all we need."

"For what?"

"Big Bang 2." Movement behind the Doctor caught Jaime's eye and she realized what it was too late.

Right when he turned, he fell to the ground after being shot by a stone Dalek. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Rory pushed Amy and Jaime out of the Dalek's sight. Jaime didn't know why she was so surprised. They all knew it was going to happen. She tried to see where the Dalek was, but Rory wouldn't let her.

"Get back! River, get back now!" Jaime looked at River who crouched next to the Doctor. Rory shot the Dalek with the gun in his hand, successfully powering it down. Jaime looked at the Doctor who was shaking violently.

"Doctor. Doctor, it's me, River. Doctor, can you hear me?" The Doctor started pressing buttons on the vortex manipulator. Jaime sucked in a breath, knowing where he was heading. River gasped once he disappeared.

"Where did he go? Dammit, he could be anywhere."

Amy closed her eyes in realization. "He went downstairs. 12 minutes ago."

"Show me!" River shouted.

"River... he died." A heartbroken look crossed her face. Before Jaime could react, the Dalek started speaking.

"Systems restoring! You will be exterminated!"

"We've got to move. That thing's coming back to life," Rory said, his hand still aimed at the alien.

"You go to the Doctor. I'll be right with you," River ordered.

Jaime gave a look of protest, but stopped when Amy grabbed her hand and started running. Amy led her back to the spot where the Doctor died in front of them. But the only thing left was Rory's jacket.

"How could he have moved? He was dead!" Rory exclaimed, "Doctor? Doctor!"

"But he was dead," Amy spoke.

"Who told you that?" a voice said from behind. Jaime turned to see River coming towards them, looking annoyed.

"He did."

"Rule 1: The Doctor lies." River continued walking to the Pandorica.

"Where's the Dalek?"

"It died," River sneered, marching off with venom in her tone.

Jaime rose her eyebrows. She didn't know River well, but she looked forward to knowing her better. Back in the same hallway as before, the four of them looked down where the Pandorica was. And inside was the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Amy cried as they all broke into a sprint.

River was immediately at his side, checking him over. "Why did he tell us he was dead?" Rory asked.

"We were a diversion," Amy realized. "Long as the Dalek was chasing us, he could work down here."

Jaime looked out the highest glass window, the exploding TARDIS brighter than ever with an eery orange tone. "What's happening?" she asked timidly.

"Reality's collapsing. It's speeding up. Look at this room."

Jaime and Amy turned around to see all of the things that were once on exhibit were gone. "Where did everything go?" Amy asked.

"History's being erased. Time's running out." River turned back to the Doctor, trying to get him to talk as he lay weakly in the chair. "Doctor, what were you doing? Tell us. Doctor?"

Jaime looked up at him as he opened his eyes, visibly struggling to breathe. "Big... Bang... 2."

"The Big Bang," Rory stated. "That's the beginning of the universe, right?"

Amy stepped towards the box. "What, and Big Bang 2 is the bang that brings us back? Is that what you mean?"

The Doctor nodded weakly. "Oh..." River breathed in realization.

"What?" Amy asked impatiently.

"The TARDIS is still burning. It's exploding at every point in history. If you threw the Pandorica into the explosion, right into the heart of the fire..."

"Then what?" Jaime questioned.

"Then let there be light. The light from the Pandorica would explode everywhere at once. Just like he said."

"And that would work? That would bring everything back?" Amy asked to be sure.

"A restoration field, powered by an exploding TARDIS, happening at every moment in history. Oh, that's brilliant. It might even work," River said.

She scanned the vortex manipulator on the Doctor's wrist which was now hooked up to a number of wires. "He's wired the vortex manipulator to the rest of the box."

"Why?" Jaime asked, dreading the answer.

"So he can take it with him. He's going to fly the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion."


	13. The Big Bang (#2)

Jaime stood next to Amy who had an arm wrapped around her shoulder. Jaime was struggling to keep her tears in. Rory stood on the opposite side of Amy, staring at the exploding TARDIS through the glass roof.

Jaime just wanted to go home. And not just to the TARDIS with the Doctor, Amy, and Rory. She wanted her real home. The home she lost once her mother died. What would happen once the Big Bang 2 happened?

"Are you okay?" Rory asked Amy.

"Are you?" Amy asked with no emotion.

"No," Rory whispered.

"Well, shut up, then!" she snapped.

Rory looked at her sympathetically and Jaime looked up wearily. He wrapped his arms around Amy and Jaime, making sure she didn't feel left out. She smiled at the feeling.

"Jaime," River called out, walking towards them. "He wants to talk to you."

Before Jaime could leave, Amy spoke up, breaking the hug. "So, what happens here? Big Bang 2, what happens to us?"

"We all wake up where we ought to be. None of this ever happens, and we don't remember it."

"River... tell me he comes back, too."

She smiled sadly. "The Doctor will be at the heart of the explosion."

"So?"

"So all the cracks in time will close, but he'll be on the wrong side. Trapped in the never space, the void between the worlds. All memory of him will be purged from the universe. He will never have been born."

River reached out an arm on Jaime's shoulder. "Now, please. He wants to speak to you first before he goes."

Jaime nodded sadly. The walk to the entrance of the Pandorica felt like it lasted years. She looked down at the ground, knowing that looking at the Doctor would make her lose it. She stopped when she got to the entrance. "Hello," she said meekly.

It took a couple of seconds for the Doctor to reply. "Jemma Woods. Always as quiet as a mouse."

Jaime slowly lifted her head, making eye contact with the Time Lord. She had so many questions, but she couldn't make out any of them. "I don't know what to say," she laughed brokenly.

The Doctor smiled at her reassuringly which only broke her heart more. "Jaime. The girl with no family."

"You gave me a family. The greatest family I could ever ask for."

His eyes lit up. "Was it? Was it really?"

Jaime nodded eagerly, wanting him to understand how much it meant to her.

"You have such a big heart, Jemma Woods, bigger than most humans. You took us in, but it's not what you wanted."

"But it is. It's everything," she sniffed.

"Every family has flaws, Jaime. We just happen to be the most... dysfunctional family in the universe."

Jaime laughed at that, but not before tears finally streamed down her face. "Doctor, what's going to happen to me? When the Big Bang 2 happens? Will I be back in New York?" she asked fearfully.

"No. No, no, of course not. I won't stand for that," he laughed lightly.

Jaime looked up at him, searching his eyes. He was being truthful. He was going to make sure she never went back to Ellis Island.

"But where will I be? Will I be in Colchester? Will I be stuck with my dad?" she sniffed.

"Jemma Woods," the Doctor spoke sternly, leaning forward as much as he could. "I bet on my life that you will have the perfect family. A real family, a perfect life. I don't know when, but I promise you, you will have that life."

Jaime was openly crying now, small sobs escaping her lips. She knew she wouldn't get a better answer than that. She didn't know how to properly say goodbye without making it more painful.

"I'll go get Amy."

The Doctor smiled at her one more time before she disappeared around the corner. Amy, Rory, and River all looked at her sympathetically. Jaime only looked straight ahead, like an emotionless solider. "Go ahead."

Amy nodded once before silently walking over to say goodbye. Jaime stared at the Pandorica with all the hate in the world. She could feel her face starting to burn. It all stopped when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Jaime? Are you alright?" Rory asked.

She looked up at him with puffy eyes. He didn't say another word as he put his arms around her. To her, it felt like her father was hugging her. Not her real father, but the father she never had. The loving one who would do anything for his little girl.

Even though Rory wasn't really her dad, it comforted her. It gave her some hope for the future. Rory rubbed her back gently before pulling away. He kissed her forehead lightly as Jaime wiped her eyes.

Suddenly, a tremor shook the building. Jaime looked up at the burning TARDIS, glowing as brightly as before. "Doctor! It's speeding up!" River shouted.

Jaime grasped Rory's arm in fear. She felt ashamed of herself for being so childish. A few seconds later, the Pandorica's doors closed and Amy solemnly joined them.

The Pandorica glowed brightly as the room started shaking violently. River took charge, pushing Amy to the corner of the room. "Back! Get back!"

Rory pushed Jaime over to River and Amy as the Pandorica suddenly shot off, bursting through the ceiling. Jaime watched it leave, sailing towards the burning TARDIS. River looked down at her scanner device when it started beeping. "It's from the Doctor."

"What does it say?" Amy asked, no emotion in her voice.

"Geronimo."

Jaime leaned over, grasping Amy's hand. Even though she looked like all of her feelings had been drained, she took Jaime's hand.

Jaime was sad to know that she would never have known the Doctor. What scared her was that she didn't know how her life would be when she woke up.

*** * * ***

The sun was brightly shining; the perfect weather for a perfect day. Amy Pond woke up slowly. She expected to feel overwhelmingly happy, but she felt like something was missing. Something obvious.

"Morning!" Her thoughts were interrupted as a woman with faded red hair walked in, carrying a breakfast tray. It took Amy a second to realize who it was.

"You're my mum. Oh, my God. You're my mum."

"Well, of course I'm your mum. What's the matter with you? And this is your breakfast, which your father made, so feel free to tip it out of the window if it's an atrocity. Downstairs, ten minutes? Big day!"

Her mum set the tray down at the end of the bed and left to go downstairs. Amy narrowed her eyebrows. "Of course she's my mum. Why is that surprising?"

She quickly threw her covers off before making her way downstairs. She opened the lounge door, poking her head inside. Her eyes fell upon a stout man dressed in a suit.

"Ah, Amelia," he smiled. "I fear I may have been using the same joke book as the best man."

Amy grinned. "You're my tiny little dad!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.

"Amelia, why are you behaving as if you've never seen us before?" her mother asked, putting a tie on her husband.

"I don't know."

*** * * ***

Jemma Woods' mother died three months ago. Since then, she was forced to move in with her father and his girlfriend. Colchester itself wasn't that bad. It was only horrible because her father was there. He had the power to make any place horrible.

All he did was drink his life away and accuse Jaime of her mother's death. His girlfriend wasn't any better. She always felt it was her job to tell Jaime how much of a burden she was. How her life had gotten worse since she came.

Jaime didn't know what else to do. She stayed away from home as much as she could which wasn't easy since she knew no one in Colchester. She had no other house to stay at for an extended stay.

She closed the front door as quietly as she could. She didn't want to wake her hungover dad. She especially didn't want his girlfriend catching her. Tears streamed down Jaime's face as she walked away from her front door.

She walked down the street to get out of the flat for as long as she could. She sighed as she passed people who surely live better lives than her.

Suddenly, Jaime fell to the ground as she bumped into an innocent bystander. "I'm so sorry, miss. I should've looked where I was going."

Jaime quickly wiped her eyes, accepting the man's hand. "Don't worry about it. No harm done."

She tried to walk past the man, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"

Jaime looked up at him, seeing the stout man genuinely looking concerned. "Just a bit of a rough day. I needed some fresh air."

"Oh, well, you're welcome to come in, have some tea if you'd like," he offered, gesturing to his flat across the street.

"That sounds lovely, but I really ought to be going. Maybe some other time um..." she drawled out, not knowing his name.

"Oh, Craig. Craig Owens. And you are?" he answered, holding out his hand.

"Jaime Woods," she replied, accepting his hand.

Craig smiled warmly. "Well, I'd better be going. See you again sometime, Jaime."

"You, too, Craig."

He waved once before crossing the street and entering his flat. Jaime sighed before continuing her walk. Eventually, she stopped at a park bench. Today was so warm and sunny, but she didn't feel as happy as she should've.

Her life had gone down the drain ever since her mum died. Jaime was happy she at least got to apologize for her actions before her mum left. She felt bad for storming out of the house, but something made her go to the airport and apologize.

Because of her death, Jaime couldn't bring herself to open the birthday present her mum gave her. She spent her time carrying around the wrapped box in her pocket. It gave her comfort.

Suddenly, a strange noise made Jaime perk up. It sounded mechanical, but she couldn't figure out what it was. The wind picked up, blowing Jaime's hair everywhere. She looked out in front of her to where the noise was coming from. But nothing was there. Was she imagining things?

Suddenly, something tall and blue started to take form before her very eyes. Now she really thought she was seeing things. She blinked once and when she opened her eyes, a blue police box sat before her.

Jaime stood up to inspect it, but jumped when the door opened. A man appeared in a tweed blazer, braces, floppy brown hair, and a bowtie. He smiled at Jaime's startled face.

"Hello, Jemma."

Her face broke into a wide grin. "Doctor." She ran as fast as she could, jumping into his arms. He laughed loudly, returning the hug before breaking it.

"How's my girl?" the Doctor asked, holding her at arms length.

"Much better now," she grinned.

He smiled at her sympathetically. The Doctor grabbed her hand, pulling her into the TARDIS. "Come on, Jemma! We've got a wedding to crash!"

*** * * ***

The ceremony had gone off without a hitch. Everyone was gathered for the reception, currently waiting for the next speech. "Ladies and gentlemen, the father of the bridge, Augustus Pond!"

Everyone cheered at the announcement, Amy beaming in delight. Augustus got to his feet, waiting for the hall to quiet down.

"Sorry, everyone. I'll be another two minutes. I'm just reviewing certain aspects."

Everyone laughed as he sat down. Amy's mother rolled her eyes. "Your father, Amelia, will be the absolute death of me. Unless, of course, I strike preemptively."

Amy laughed out loud, glancing out the window. She stopped suddenly as a woman with curly blonde hair walked by. She made eye contact with Amy before disappearing around the corner. Amy stood up, staring out the window with wide eyes.

Rory looked up at her worriedly. "Amy? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm... fine," she breathed, sitting down abruptly.

Rory looked at her awkwardly. "Right. Er... you're crying."

Amy sniffed. "So I am. Why am I doing that?"

"Because you're... happy, probably. Happy Mrs. Rory, happy, happy, happy," Rory said, trying to cheer her up.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm sad. I'm really, really sad."

Rory nodded once. "Great."

Amy looked down at a blue book on the table in front of them. "What's that?"

"Oh, er, someone left it for you. A woman," he said, handing it to her.

"What is it?" she asked, flipping through it.

"It's a book," Rory stated.

"It's blank," Amy said in annoyance.

"It's a present," Rory said awkwardly.

"But why?"

"Well, you know the old saying... the old... wedding... thing. Huh?"

Amy stared down at the book, blocking everything out. She didn't notice her dad stand up to give his speech. This book looked... so familiar, but it didn't at the same time. She glanced around the room, different objects suddenly seeming very familiar.

A bowtie... a pair of braces... the blue book she held. Suddenly, it all came back like a rushing flood. Quickly, she pushed back her chair, getting on her feet. "Shut up, dad!"

"Amelia?" he asked in surprise. Everyone looked at her in shock.

"Sorry, but shut up, please! There's someone missing... someone important, someone so, so important."

"Amy, what's wrong?" Rory whispered.

"Sorry," she cleared her throat. "Sorry, everyone. But when I was a kid... I had an imaginary friend."

"Oh, no, not this again," her mother groaned.

"The raggedy Doctor. My raggedy Doctor. But he wasn't imaginary. He was real."

Everyone groaned. They'd all heard this story more than once. "The psychiatrists we sent her to!" her mother sighed.

"I remember you! I remember!" Amy shouted, "I brought the others back, I can bring you home, too! Raggedy man, I remember you and you are late for my wedding!"

The room went silent as the glasses started clinking and the chandelier started swinging. "I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story. The brand new, ancient blue box. Oh, clever, very clever."

A wind started in the room, making the guests shift in panic. The sound of engines were faint, growing louder. "Amy, what is it?" Rory asked.

"Something old. Something new. Something borrowed... something blue."

Amy couldn't be happier when the TARDIS materialized in the middle of the hall. Rory stared at it in confusion.

"It's the Doctor! How did we forget the Doctor?" he wondered.

Amy stepped over the table, running to the TARDIS and knocked on it. She stared at it expectantly. "Okay, Doctor. Did I surprise you this time?"

She waited a few seconds until the door swung open. "Er, yeah. Completely astonished. Never expected that."

Amy smiled at his outfit, complete with black suit, white scarf, and top hat.

"How lucky I happened to be wearing this old thing. Even luckier that I just so happened to have my trusty companion with me."

He stepped to the side, revealing Jaime in a simple, one strapped lilac dress and her hair in a low ponytail. She wore makeup for the first time anyone had seen and she was absolutely glowing.

"Jaime!" Amy cried in joy. The girl grinned, running in her black, strapped shoes, embracing Amy in a tight hug. The Doctor made himself known to the others.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Amy's imaginary friend!" Everyone gasped in wonder, confused about how this was possible. "But I came anyway," he said, shaking Augustus' hand.

Amy broke away from Jaime, facing the Doctor. "You absolutely, definitely may kiss the bride," she flirted, stepping towards him.

The Doctor quickly placed a finger on her lips. "Amelia! From now on, I shall be leaving the... kissing duties to the brand new Mr. Pond." He shook Rory's hand, who had joined them.

"No. I'm not Mr. Pond. That's not how it works."

"Yeah, it is," the Doctor insisted.

Rory looked at Amy before agreeing. "Yeah, it is."

The Doctor directed his attention to the crowd. "Right, then, everyone. I'll move my box. You're going to need the space. We only came for the dancing."

*** * * ***

Jaime was never one to go to weddings. She was especially never one to go to a party. This was a new experience for her and she was loving it.

She always thought she'd be the one to stand awkwardly in the corner while everyone else had fun. That wasn't possible when the Doctor was around.

He shamed everyone on the dance floor, successfully embarrassing Jaime and Rory. Apparently, he was a master of a dance he made up that resembled a giraffe. He also made Jaime join him in several dances, embarrassing her half the time.

Nevertheless, she had fun. It was the most fun she'd had since she'd gone to her dad's house. She was glad that was all behind her.

At one point, Jaime managed to sneak away from the Doctor. She found a lovely empty spot in the room where she could watch everyone else have a good time. She didn't feel awkward and was enjoying herself just from watching.

A few minutes later, Amy found Jaime by herself and joined her. "So, Jaime. What'd you think?" she asked, bumping her hip.

"It's fantastic," she beamed.

Amy smiled at that. "How was your life? After the Pandorica?"

Jaime swallowed. She didn't like the subject of her father, but she knew she couldn't escape it. "It was after my mum's funeral. I didn't end up going to New York, thank goodness. I don't ever want to go through that again."

Amy smiled at her sadly. "Where did you end up?"

"My dad's flat. He blamed me for mum's death and his girlfriend was always telling me how much she hated me. They'll be happy to know I'm not coming back."

Amy frowned, wrapping an arm around Jaime. "I'm glad you're away from all that. You don't need those things in your life."

"Thanks, Amy. I'm glad to be back." Jaime enjoyed the silence for a moment, happy to finally be able to relax. She was back with her only motherly figure in her life. She couldn't ask for anything else.

"What happens now? Are you going to stay with the Doctor?" Amy asked softly.

"If he wants me to, of course I will. If not-"

"Oh, don't you say that. Of course he wants you to stay with him."

Jaime smiled. "I hope I get to see you again."

"What makes you think I'm leaving? Just because I'm married now doesn't mean I'll be gone forever."

"Good."

*** * * ***

After the wedding, Jaime and the Doctor walked back to the TARDIS in a comfortable silence. The Doctor parked the TARDIS in Amy's garden where she once waited all night for him. It wasn't a very long walk, but Jaime's feet were sore from dancing in those shoes.

She couldn't wait to get back to the TARDIS. Nothing that she valued was in Colchester. She had the box from her mother which was buried inside her coat pocket.

Jaime looked up at the Doctor who looked very pleased with himself. To think, he was supposed to never have existed. And Amy brought him back.

She cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking. "So Doctor. What's next for us?"

"What do you mean, Jemma?"

She glared at him as he chuckled to himself. "You know how much I hate that name."

"That's what makes it all the more fun," he smiled, poking her nose.

Jaime gave him a look as they continued towards the TARDIS. "I'll still have you on as a companion, if that's what you mean," he said subtly, like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Jaime grinned, happier than she had been all day.

"So. Jaime. I answered one of your questions, you answer one of mine," he said, keeping his eyes off of her.

She frowned. "Um... sure."

"What's in the box?"

Jaime froze. She was startled and she didn't know why. It's not like the box had anything dangerous in it.

"I-It's just a gift."

"Yes, I can see that, Jemma. But what is it?" he asked, stopping to face her.

"I-I don't know. It's just the last gift my mum ever gave me. I got it when she gave it to me at the airport. I, I can't... open it," she said, sadly looking at her shoes.

The Doctor was about to say something, but stopped himself. Jaime sighed. "Let's just go back to the TARDIS."

He smiled and dramatically stuck out his arm for her to take. Jaime grinned and wrapped her arm around his. They made their way back to Amy's house and the Doctor let go of Jaime to get the TARDIS key from his pocket.

"Did you dance?" a voice asked from behind them. Jaime tensed before recognizing River. She turned around to face her before the Doctor did. "Well, you always dance at weddings, don't you?" she directed at the Doctor.

"You tell me." The Doctor handed her the blue book. Jaime had discovered it was River's journal. "The writing's all back, but I didn't peek."

"Thank you."

The Doctor also handed her the vortex manipulator. As they continued chatting, Jaime decided to let herself in the TARDIS. They both weren't paying attention to her, which she didn't mind.

Once she got inside, she practically threw her shoes off. She wiggled her toes, glad they were finally free. She also took her hair out of its low ponytail and took off her coat.

The Doctor came in alone a few minutes later. He bounded up to the console as Jaime sat in the jump seat. Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal Amy Pond, still in her wedding dress.

"Oi! Where are you off to? We haven't even had a snog in the shrubbery yet."

"I'm still here!" Jaime shouted from her seat, blushing like mad.

Rory appeared in the doorway after his wife. "Amy!" he scolded.

"Shut up, it's my wedding."

"Our wedding!" Rory corrected. He closed the doors as Amy joined the Doctor at the console.

"Sorry, you two. Shouldn't have slipped away. Bit busy, you know?"

Rory came up to the console. "You just saved the whole of space and time. Take the evening off! Maybe a bit of tomorrow."

"Space and time isn't safe yet. The TARDIS exploded for a reason. Something drew the TARDIS to this particular date and blew it up. Why? And why now?"

Jaime stood up on her sore feet once the phone started ringing. The Doctor simply ignored it. "The silence, whatever it is, is still out there and I have to- excuse me a moment," he rambled, quickly answering the phone.

"Hello! Oh, hello. I'm sorry, this is a very bad line. No, but that's not possible. She was sealed into the Seventh Obelisk. I was at the prayer meeting."

The Doctor directed his attention back to his companions. "Sorry, something's come up. This will have to be goodbye."

Amy nodded. "Yeah, I think it's goodbye. Do you think it's goodbye?" she asked Rory.

"Definitely goodbye," he agreed.

Amy ran to the TARDIS doors, throwing one of them open. "Goodbye!" she waved to the outside world. Jaime grinned. This was the life she always wanted. And now she had it back. It couldn't get much better than this.


	14. A Christmas Carol

Christmas Eve, the best time of the year. Second best, counting Christmas Day. In a place called Sardicktown, the sky was always filled with dark clouds. But that didn't stop the people from celebrating the joyous time.

The streets were dimly lit with light posts and strands of lights. People strolled the streets, greeting each other as they passed by. Just because they were poor and always lived under a layer of clouds doesn't mean they shouldn't be happy.

_"On every world, wherever people are, in the deepest part of the winter, at the exact midpoint, everybody stops and turns and hugs as if to say 'Well done! Well done, everyone! We're halfway out of the dark'."_

A light post with speakers stood on the side of a populated street, ringing out peaceful music.

_"Back on Earth, we call this Christmas or the winter solstice. On this world, the first settlers called it the Crystal Feast."_

And up in his magnificent house stood the most powerful man in Sardicktown.

"You know what I call it? I call it expecting something for nothing!"

Kazran Sardick turned away from his window to stare down a poor family who were let in his home. Kazran was the richest and the most powerful man in Sardicktown. He could do and _did_ do whatever he pleased.

"Sir? Mr. Sardick, we're only asking for one day. Just let her out for Christmas," the man of the family begged.

Kazran's servants wheeled out a human-sized chamber filled with ice. Through a small window, a blonde girl stood, as if asleep.

"She loves Christmas," the man said.

"Does she? Oh, does she? I see," Kazran sneered sarcastically. He walked up to the window, tapping the glass with his cane. "Hello! Oh, wakey wakey! It's Christmas!"

He turned away when the girl didn't move. "Do you know what? I think she's a bit cool about the whole thing." He laughed at his own dark joke before glaring at his servants who didn't move. "That was funny," Kazran sneered.

As if on command, the servants laughed as the family looked on in despair. "She's frozen," the little boy stated.

"She's what, sorry?" Kazran asked.

"She's in the ice. She can't hear you," the boy challenged.

"Oh, what a clever little boy," Kazran mocked, patting the boys head. "You must be so irritated," he sneered at the two adults. "How much?" he asked one of his servants.

"Uh, it's, um, 4,500 gideons, sir."

Kazran was outraged. "You took a loan of 4,500 gideons, and little Miss Christmas is my security."

"We're not asking for her back. Just let her have one day. Let her have Christmas with us," the man begged.

"Sir, it's the, uh, president," one the servants interrupted, holding out a telephone.

"Tell him I'm busy. Now," he smiled at the family, "Where were we? Oh, yes. She's pretty though, your daughter. Maybe I should keep her."

"She's not my daughter, sir," the man said.

"She's my sister," the woman explained. "She volunteered for the ice when the family were in difficulties many years ago."

"Sorry, sir, the President says there's a Galaxy-class ship trapped in a cloud layer and, well, we have to let it land," the servant interrupted, still holding the telephone.

"Or?"

"Well... or it'll crash, sir."

"Oh... well, it's a kind of landing, isn't it?"

The man opened his mouth before closing it abruptly. "It's from Earth, sir, registering over 4,000 life forms on board."

Kazran let out a dark chuckle. "Not if we wait a bit."

"But we can't just let it crash, sir," the man protested.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine on the roof rang out, a loud wheezing noise. The little boy looked up, trying to decipher what it was.

Kazran payed no attention. "Says who? Oh, give it here," he growled, snatching the phone. "Look, petal, we already have a surplus population. No more people allowed on this planet."

The wheezing noise grew louder before stopping. Whatever it was, it was definitely on the roof. The young boy looked over to see soot falling down the chimney into the large fireplace.

Kazran hung up the phone, waving his employees away. "Alright, you lot. Poor, begging people. Off home and pray for a miracle," he grumbled, sending the family away.

Suddenly, the fireplace erupted into flames as an unsafe amount of soot fell down the chimney. The flames went out as a girl of about sixteen came down before flopping on the floor. She popped up quickly, completely covered in soot. After a short coughing fit, she looked at the others who stared at her in disbelief.

She smiled widely. "Well! That's one thing off my bucket list."

Before anyone could speak, more soot fell as a man dropped down, summersaulting onto the floor. He jumped up, brushing himself off.

"Ah!" he coughed. "Yes. Blimey. Sorry, Christmas Eve on a rooftop, saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, 'What the hell?'. Couldn't resist pulling Jaime down with me."

Kazran stared at the two in shock and confusion, but couldn't speak a word. The family of four stood nearby, also looking very confused.

"Don't worry. Fat fella will be doing the rounds later," the man said, shaking the two children's hands. "I'm just scoping out the general... chimneyness! Yes!"

The man placed a hand on the chimney as the girl named Jaime brushed the soot from her hair. "Nice size. Good traction." He pulled his hand away at the heat.

"Fat fella?" the man in the family asked.

"Father Christmas. Santa Claus. Or as I've always known him, Jeff."

"There's no such person as Father Christmas," the boy said snidely.

"Oh, yeah?" the man countered, whipping out an old photograph. "Me and Father Christmas, Frank Sinatra's hunting lodge, 1952. See him at the back with the blonde? Albert Einstein, the three of us together. Watch out. Okay?"

The boy nodded in excitement. The man smiled. "Keep the faith. Stay off the naughtiness."

"Doctor," Jaime called, pointing at a big control panel. Just what they needed. The man known as the Doctor turned in excitement.

"Ooh, now what's this, then? I love this. A big, flashy lighty thing, that's what brought us here. Big, flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Not actually, but give me time and a crayon. Now, this big, flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in the dome, yeah? And it controls the sky."

He stood up abruptly. "Well, technically, it controls the clouds, which technically aren't clouds at all. Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice. Ice clouds, love that. Who's she?" he asked, pointing to the frozen girl in a chamber.

"Nobody important," Kazran sneered.

"Nobody important!" the Doctor marveled, approaching the chamber. "Blimey, that's amazing. Do you know, in 900 years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before?"

He jumped away, heading for the controls as Kazran looked at him with a great level of curiosity and annoyance.

"Now, this console is the key to saving that ship or I'll eat my hat, if I had a hat. I'll eat someone's hat, not someone who's using their hat, I don't want to shock a man or something. Sorry, rambling. That's because this isn't working!" he shouted as none of the controls worked for him.

"Controls are isomorphic, one to one. They respond only to me," Kazran sneered.

"Oh, you fibber! Isomorphic! There's no such thing," the Doctor mocked, turning back to the controls.

Kazran walked over before pressing a button, shutting down the panel. He turned it back on as the Doctor stared at him in awe. He pressed a button, but nothing happened. Only a sound signaling that he couldn't use the controls.

"These controls are isomorphic," he concluded.

"The skies of this entire world are mine. My family tamed them and now I own them," Kazran gloated.

"Tamed the sky? What does that mean?" Jaime asked, stepping forward.

"It means I'm Kazran Sardick. How could they possibly not know who I am?" he asked no one in particular, walking away.

"Well, just easily bored, I suppose," the Doctor said, "So, I need your help, then."

"Make an appointment," Kazran grumbled.

The Doctor stepped up to him, directing his full attention at the man. "There are 4,003 people in a spaceship trapped in your cloud belt. Without your help, they're going to die."

"Yes," Kazran agreed.

Jaime frowned at that. "You don't have to let that happen," she protested.

"I know, but I'm going to. Bye bye. Bored now. Chuck!"

A servant pushed the Doctor towards the doors as the other took the family and Jaime. The Doctor escaped and walked up to Kazran who sat in his large arm chair.

"Oh, look at you, looking all tough now," Kazran spoke. The servants stopped at his voice.

"There are 4,003 people I won't allow to die tonight. Do you know where that puts you?"

"Where?" Kazran asked, playing along.

"4,004," the Doctor spoke darkly.

"Was that a sort of threaty thing?"

"Whatever happens tonight, remember, you brought it on yourself," the Doctor warned.

"Yeah, yeah, right. Get him out of here! And next time, try and find me some funny poor people."

The Doctor didn't fight as the servant led him to the door. They hurried to make the people leave, but not before the little boy picked up a small rock and threw it at Kazran, hitting the back of his head.

Kazran stood up in anger, making his way to the little boy. He raised his hand and Jaime's eyes went round. "No! Don't!

"Don't you dare! You leave him!" He struggled to bring his hand down as the boy started whimpering. Jaime stared at Kazran as he stared at the ground in shame.

"Get them out of here! Get that foul smelling family out of here! Out!"

Jaime and the Doctor were released as the servants pushed the family out. Kazran turned to them with dark eyes. "What? What do you two want?"

"A simple life," the Doctor replied.

Jaime snorted. "Good luck with that."

"But you didn't hit the boy," the Doctor said, putting his hand over Jaime's mouth.

"Well, I will next time!" Kazran shouted at the door.

"You see, you won't. Now, why? What am I missing?" the Doctor spoke softly. He suddenly turned, taking his hand off Jaime's mouth. "The chairs. Of course, the chairs. Stupid me. The chairs."

"Chairs?" Kazran asked.

"There's a portrait on the wall behind me, looks like you, but it's too old, so it's your father. All the chairs are angled away from it. Daddy's been dead for 20 years, but you still can't get comfortable where he can see you. There's a Christmas tree in the painting, but none in this house on Christmas Eve. You're scared of him and you're scared of being like him and good for you, you're not like him, not really. You know why?"

"Why?" Kazran asked quietly.

"Because you didn't hit the boy. Merry Christmas, Mr. Sardick."

"I _despise_ Christmas," he hissed.

The Doctor smiled before walking to the doors. "Shouldn't. It's very you."

"It's what? What do you mean?"

"Halfway out of the dark." Kazran frowned as the two strangers calmly left his home.

*** * * ***

_"Have you got a plan yet?"_ Amelia Pond talked into a communication device as the ship rocked violently. She couldn't believe she was stuck on a ship due to crash, on her honeymoon of all days.

"Yes, I do," the Doctor replied.

_"Are you lying?"_

"Yes, I am."

_"Don't treat me like an idiot,"_ she threatened.

"Okay. The good news, I've tracked the machine that unlocks the cloud belt and I could use it to clear your flight corridor and you could land, easily."

_"Well, hey, hey, that's great news."_

"But I can't control the machine," the Doctor said as he and Jaime looked up at Kazran's dome.

_"Less great."_

"But we met a man who can."

_"Ah, well, there you go." _

"And he hates me."

_"Were you extra charming and clever?" _

Jaime heard and laughed loudly. The Doctor glared at her. "Yeah, how did you know?"

_"Lucky guess,"_ she grumbled.

Suddenly, the man from earlier approached. "Sir? Sir?" Jaime tugged on the Doctor's sleeve as he put away the radio. The man approached them excitedly.

"I've never seen anybody stand up to Mr. Sardick like that. Bless you, sir. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. Lovely, sorry, a bit busy."

"You'd better get inside. The fog's thick tonight and there's a fish warning."

"Alright, yeah. Sorry, fish?"

"Yeah, you know what they're like when they get a bit hungry."

"Yeah, fish, I know, fish. Fish?"

"It's all Mr. Sardick's fault, I reckon," the man said, looking up at the sky. "He always lets a few fish through the cloud layer when he's in a bad mood. Thank you, and bless you once again."

The Doctor stared at the man who left before looking at Jaime. "Fish?" they both asked.

_"Doctor, the captain says we've got less than an hour. What should we be doing?"_

The Doctor ignored her as Jaime pointed to a school of fish swimming around a light post. "Fish," he marveled.

_"Sorry, what?"_ Amy asked.

The Doctor approached the light. "Fish that can swim in fog. I love new planets."

_"Doctor. Doctor, please, don't get distracted,"_ Amy pleaded.

"Now, why would people be frightened of you tiny, little fellas? Look at you, sweet, little fishy wishies. Mind you, fish in the fog, so the cloud cover... ooh. Careful up there!"

_"Oh. Oh, great, thanks, Doctor, because there was a real danger we were all going to nod off. We've got less than an hour!" _

The Doctor looked at a clock behind him that read 11:00 pm. One hour until Christmas Day. "I know." Jaime jumped as the light post speakers started playing Christmas music.

_"Doctor, how are you getting us off here?"_

"Oh, just give me a minute!" he ordered. Jaime stepped towards the light post in fascination as the Doctor started pacing.

"Can't use the TARDIS, cause it can't lock on. So that ship needs to land, but it can't land unless a very bad man suddenly decides to turn nice just in time for Christmas Day."

_"Doctor, I can't hear you. What is that? Is that singing?"_

"A Christmas carol," he said.

_"A what?"_

"A Christmas carol."

_"A what?!"_

"A Christmas carol!" Jaime turned as looks of realization crossed over both of their faces.

"Kazran Sardick," the Doctor grinned as Amy shouted at him over the radio. "Merry Christmas, Kazran Sardick."

*** * * ***

Kazran Sardick lay sleeping in his arm chair. After the events of today, all he wanted to do was relax and not have to deal with anyone. Suddenly, an old video started playing, projecting onto the wall. It showed a young boy sitting at his desk.

_"Hello. My name is Kazran Sardick. I'm twelve and a half. And this is my bedroom,"_ he spoke to the camera. He leaned forward and whispered as if telling a secret. _"This is my top-secret special project, for my eyes only. Merry Christmas."_

Suddenly, a man started shouting. _"Kazran! Kazran!"_

Kazran jumped out of his deep sleep at the sound of his late father's voice. He stared at the video playing on the wall as his father stormed into his twelve year old self's bedroom.

_"Kazran, what are you doing? What are you doing?"_ he shouted, seeing the camera, "_I've warned you before about this. Stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child!"_

_"I was just going to make a film of the fish."_

_"Fish are dangerous!"_ his father yelled.

_"I just want to see them."_

_"Don't be stupid. You're far too young."_

_"Everyone at school's seen the fish."_

_"That's enough. You'll be singing to them next, like gypsies."_

_"Singing works,_" young Kazran protested. "_I've seen it. The fish like the singing."_

_"What does it matter what fish like?"_

_"People say we don't have to be afraid of the fish. They're not really interest in us-"_

_"You don't listen to people! You listen to me!"_

Kazran cringed at the sight of his father striking his younger self.

_"Sorry, father,"_ he whimpered.

The Doctor and Jaime came out from the shadows as Kazran stared at the video in remembrance. The Doctor walked up to him quietly.

"It's okay," he said softly, causing Kazran to jump out of his skin.

"What have you done? What is this?!" he growled.

"Found it on an old drive. Sorry about the picture quality. Had to recover the data using quantum enfolding and a paper clip."

The Doctor sat in Kazran's chair as he went to call the servants.

"Don't bother calling your servants. They quit," Jaime spoke calmly, stopping Kazran.

"Apparently, they won the lottery at exactly the same time, which is a bit lucky, when you think about it," the Doctor finished.

"There isn't a lottery," Kazran said.

"Yeah, as I say, lucky."

Kazran stared at the Doctor. "Who are you?"

"Tonight, I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past." The Doctor stood up as young Kazran cried once his father stormed out.

"Did you ever get to see a fish back then when you were a kid?"

"What does that matter to you?" Kazran hissed.

"It mattered to you," Jaime said sadly.

Kazran looked at the video in longing. "I cried all night... and I learnt life's most invaluable lesson."

"Which is?" Jaime asked.

"Nobody comes." Kazran looked like he was about to break down from his childhood memories. "Get out! Get out of my house!"

"Okay. I'll go, but I'll be back," the Doctor said.

The Doctor shot a look at Jaime who nodded once. She understood what he was doing which was a first.

"Way back," the Doctor said as he looked at Kazran one last time. "Way, _way_ back."

Jaime's fear escalated when she realized she was left alone with the man. He looked like he was about to shout at her, but stopped at the sound of a wheezing engine.

Twelve year old Kazran heard it, too. He looked at his bedroom window to see a man in a tweed blazer and a bowtie standing outside.

_"See? Back,"_ he said as he opened the bedroom window. Jaime grinned as Kazran watched the video in confusion.

_"Who are you?_" young Kazran asked.

_"Hi. I'm the Doctor. I'm your new babysitter_," he said, jumping inside.

_"Where's Mrs. Mantovani?"_ he asked, wiping his eyes.

_"Ah, you'll never guess. Clever old Mrs. Manto, she only went and won the lottery_," the Doctor said, jumping on the bed.

"There isn't any lottery!" Kazran yelled from his house.

_"There isn't any lottery_," his younger self said.

_"I know! What a woman!"_

_"If you're my babysitter, why are you climbing in the window?"_

_"If I was climbing out the window, I'd be going in the wrong direction. Pay attention."_

_"But Mrs. Mantovani's always my babysitter_," Kazran protested.

_"Time's change. Wouldn't you say?_" the Doctor asked the camera. _"See? Christmas past."_

_"Who are you talking to?"_ young Kazran asked.

_"You. Now, your past is going to change. That means your memories will change, too. Bit scary, but you'll get the hang of it."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"I'll bet you don't. I wish I could see your face_," he beamed.

Kazran stared at the screen in the highest level of confusion. "But that never happened!" He turned away from the screen to where Jaime was standing. "But it did."

She smiled at him warmly. They watched as young Kazran started warming up to the Doctor and they eventually set up bait for a fish. The "bait" being the sonic screwdriver tied to the ceiling while the Doctor and Kazran hid in the cupboard.

Jaime was happy to see the Doctor and young Kazran bonding. Maybe there was hope. Suddenly, the rope attached to the sonic tugged on the Doctor's grip.

The Doctor stood up to go out as Kazran, young and old, protested. "No, Doctor, you mustn't!"

_"Doctor, are you sure?"_

_"Trust me."_

_"Okay_," young Kazran said, unsure.

_"Oi! Eyes on the tie. Look at me. I wear it and I don't care. Trust me."_

"Yes." "_Yes."_

_"That's why it's cool_," the Doctor boasted.

Kazran reached up to touch his own bowtie in realization. Jaime grinned, thrilled that everything was going as planned. The Doctor left the cupboard to see what was in Kazran's room. All they could see was young Kazran asking about the fish.

Suddenly, the Doctor ran in, leaning against the door. Jaime jumped up, anxious to know what was happening.

_"What's happening?_" young Kazran asked.

_"Well, concentrating on the plusses, you've definitely got a story of your own now."_

Suddenly, a big thud hit the door, causing Jaime to gasp. That was no little fish.

_"Also, I got a good look at the fish and I think I understand how the fog works, which is going to help me land a spaceship in the future and save a lot of lives. And I bet I'll get some very interesting readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it back from the shark in your bedroom."_

Jaime's eyes widened. "What?!"

_"There's a shark in my bedroom?!" _young Kazran asked.

_"Oh, fine! Focus on that!"_

The door thudded suddenly, before stopping. "_Has it gone?_" young Kazran asked. "_What's it doing?" _

_"What do you call it if you don't have any feet and you're taking a run-up?"_

Suddenly, the Doctor pushed young Kazran away from the door as the shark burst in and the camera went fuzzy.

"No!" Kazran yelled.

Jaime sighed shakily. Obviously Kazran lived, but what about the Doctor? Kazran still looked shaken up as his memories were changing. Jaime decided to let him handle his memories alone. She was still too scared to talk to him.

Suddenly, Kazran stared at the wall. "7258."

Jaime looked at him in confusion. "Sorry?"

"7258!" Jaime stared at him, not knowing what to say. He kept shouting the number, louder and louder. "7258!"

"Just what I was after! Thank you!"

Jaime turned to see the Doctor poking his head through the door. She grinned at the sight of him. "Doctor!"

He winked at her before slamming the door shut. Jaime sighed in annoyance. She didn't want to miss out on another adventure. But she knew it was best to stay with Kazran until the Doctor came back.

*** * * * **

Jaime felt like she was with a crazy man. As Kazran's memories changed, he'd say different things out loud. She hoped the Doctor had everything under control. He had to save Amy and Rory.

Jaime sat up when she saw Kazran pull out an old box filled with various little knick knacks. She stood over his shoulder as he sat in his arm chair. She watched him pull out an old photograph of a beautiful blonde woman.

It was the girl trapped in the chamber of ice. Her family was the people who asked if she could come out for Christmas. Did Kazran know her?

A little while later, Kazran had photos spread out on the carpet. Jaime watched him from a distance, not wanting to ruin his mood. It seemed he forgot about her.

"New memories," he marveled. "How can I have new memories?"

Jaime yawned, longing to explore the large home. As Kazran continued his stroll down a new memory lane, she quietly opened one of the double doors. She hadn't been anywhere besides the large room. She got lost very quickly.

She wandered down hallways, through doorways and into rooms. Eventually, she found a staircase that led down to a basement. At the bottom of the stairs, Jaime came face to face with a large vault door. She knew there was no way she'd be able to get inside once she saw the security system.

A small window allowed her to see inside, but she had to jump to look through. She couldn't see inside exactly, but it looked cold. Jaime looked to her left to see a keypad to open the door. She needed a number.

Number, number... didn't Kazran give a number to the Doctor? Oh, what was it? She walked over to the keypad, ready to enter a random number. _Yeah, that's super smart, Jaime. You may not have two chances, _she thought to herself.

She groaned, rubbing her face as she wracked her brain. It definitely started with a seven. Suddenly, Jaime jumped in excitement. 7258! That's it!

Jaime punched in the number, thrilled as the small light turned green. She turned the wheel with all her might, happy that the door granted her entrance. As the door opened enough for her to squeeze in, she shivered as the cold air hit her.

She reevaluated her decision to enter this room. Jaime figured she had nothing else to do, she was bored beyond belief. Exploring this mansion was entertaining, even if it was extremely cold.

Jaime stepped in, shocked at the sight. There were hundreds of chambers similar to the one the girl was frozen in. Why were there so many? As she walked in closer, she looked inside the different chambers to see different people, men and women.

The floor was covered with a thick layer of fog. She couldn't even see the floor. Who in their right mind would allow a thing like this? Then again, this was a new planet for her.

Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder, causing a shriek to erupt from her. Jaime fell to the floor in shock, sitting in the fog. She looked up to see a boy about nineteen standing above her. He immediately looked guilty for scaring her.

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you," he stammered, lending a hand to help her to her feet. Jaime blushed once she got a good look at him. _Oh, he's cute._

"Who are you?" she asked quietly.

"I'm Kazran. Kazran Sardick. And you must be Jemma?" he asked politely.

Jaime stared at him with a dopey expression. "What?"

"Jemma! We were wondering where you'd run off to. Speaking of which, what are you doing down here?"

Jaime looked behind Kazran to see the Doctor coming their way. She looked at him in relief, already feeling awkward in Kazran's presence. How could he grow up to be such a grumpy old man?

"I could say the same to you, Doctor," Jaime replied.

"Come on now! It's Christmas Eve! She'll be waiting," the Doctor cried, grabbing Jaime's hand and dragging her to the TARDIS outside the doors.

"She?"

*** * * ***

Abigail Pettigrew was the girl frozen in ice. Apparently, by using the ice chamber, the Doctor and young Kazran saved the shark that came into Kazran's bedroom all those years ago. They managed to save the shark which still has half of the sonic screwdriver in its body.

With their help, Abigail has been spending Christmas Eve with the Doctor and Kazran every year since then. At the end of each Christmas Eve, she goes back to the ice until the next year.

After Jaime was picked up, they went to get Abigail for their next Christmas Eve. Jaime immediately knew Abigail and Kazran were attracted to each other. She couldn't say she blamed her.

That Christmas Eve, they spent it with Abigail's sister's family. They hadn't seen her in a number of years, so they welcomed her with open arms. The family was very gracious, thrilled to be spending Christmas with her again.

Jaime enjoyed it, seeing as she never had a proper Christmas celebration. Whenever she did, it'd just be with her mum. After dinner, they left to take Abigail back to the ice.

Even though they just met, Abigail pulled Jaime into a hug. "It was so lovely to meet you!"

"And you," Jaime said happily.

Abigail then hugged the Doctor. "Best Christmas Eve ever."

"Ah. 'Til the next one."

"I look forward to it. Now I'd like to say goodnight to Kazran," she smirked. Jaime raised an eyebrow, but smiled.

"Of course, yes," the Doctor said, staying in his spot. "Well, on you go."

Jaime sighed, grabbing his arm. She winked at Abigail who blushed before she pulled the Doctor away.

As they walked away, Kazran quickly ran over to them, nervously. "Doctor," he whispered, "I think she's going to kiss me." 

"Yeah, I think you're right," the Doctor said, just as awkwardly, pushing him towards Abigail who waited patiently.

Kazran groaned, before coming right back to the Doctor. "I've never kissed anyone before. What do I do?"

"Well," the Doctor said, wrapping an arm around Kazran's shoulder, "Try and be all nervous and rubbish and a bit shaky."

"Why?"

"Because you're gonna be like that anyway, might as well make it part of the plan, then it will feel on purpose. Off you go, then."

He pushed Kazran away again, but he came back, even more nervous. "Now? I kiss her now?"

"Kazran, trust me, it's this or going to your room and designing a new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes. Now, go!" the Doctor said, fed up.

As Kazran approached Abigail, Jaime pulled the Doctor away. They watched in silence as Abigail and Kazran shared their first kiss. Jaime couldn't help, but blush because she knew who he'd become.

*** * * ***

Next Christmas Eve went by in a blur. Jaime wasn't sure she caught everything that happened. They were in America at some sort of high class party, old famous people roaming around. Something happened between Kazran and Abigail and the Doctor got engaged to Marilyn Monroe. Don't ask.

Jaime didn't even know where she was for most of it. Once Abigail was back in her chamber, the Doctor was all set to jump ahead to next Christmas Eve.

"Here we go. Another day, another Christmas Eve," the Doctor said to Kazran who stood by Abigail's chamber. "We'll see you in a minute, okay? I mean, a year."

"Doctor?" Kazran called out before the two left. As Jaime made eye contact with him, she shrunk back. He didn't look like the younger, pleasant Kazran. He had a dark look in his eyes, like his future self. "Listen, why don't we leave it?"

"Sorry. Leave what?"

"You know, this. Every Christmas Eve, it's getting a bit old."

"Old?" the Doctor asked sadly.

"Well, Christmas is for kids, isn't it?"

Jaime could see deep pain in Kazran's eyes. Something happened that they didn't know about.

"I've got some work with my dad now, I'm going to focus on that. Get that cloud belt under control."

"Sorry, I didn't realize I was boring you."

"Not your fault. Times change," Kazran said simply before walking away.

"Not as much as I hoped," Jaime said sadly.

"Kazran," the Doctor called out. He walked forward, handing Kazran his half of the sonic screwdriver. "I'll be needing a new one, anyway. What the hell. Merry Christmas. And if you ever need me, just activate it, I'll hear you."

"I won't need you," he replied too quickly.

"What's happened? What are you not telling me?"

Kazran smiled fakely before walking away, screwdriver in hand.

"What about Abigail?" Jaime questioned.

Kazran turned with a snide look. "I know where to find her."

*** * * ***

Kazran never called. He made up his mind. He was destined to become the heartless man that the Doctor couldn't change. That in itself was heartbreaking.

Jaime sat in the TARDIS once the Doctor landed back in present time. The ship that Amy and Rory were on wasn't going to last much longer. The Doctor was outside of the TARDIS in the room with all of the chambers, talking to old Kazran.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize," the Doctor said sadly.

"All my life I've been called heartless. My other life, my real life, the one you rewrote. Now look at me." Kazran looked at a frozen Abigail with a forlorn look.

"Better a broken heart than no heart at all."

"Try it. You try it," he snarled. "Why are you here?"

"Because I'm not finished with you yet. You've seen the past, present... and now you need to see the future," the Doctor stated simply, stepping forward.

Jaime took that as her cue, leading a certain someone out of the TARDIS without Kazran noticing. "Fine, do it. Show me. I'll die cold, alone and afraid. Of course I will, we all do. What difference does showing me make?" Kazran spoke.

"Do you know why I'm going to let those people die? Not a plan, I don't get anything from it. It's just that I don't care. I'm not like you. I don't even want to be like you. I don't and never, ever will care."

The Doctor gave him a sorrowful look. "And I don't believe that."

"Then show me the future, prove me wrong."

"I am showing it to you, I'm showing it to you right now."

Kazran gave him a confused look. They hadn't gone anywhere. The Doctor then spoke, directed towards someone else behind Kazran. "So what do you think?" he asked.

Kazran turned to see Jaime standing there. Beside her was Kazran when he was twelve years old. "Is this who you want to become, Kazran?"

Young Kazran stepped forward slowly in complete awe. Besides looking confused, he was shocked. Older Kazran had the same look as the two faced each other.

"Dad?" young Kazran asked.

Kazran angrily threw his cane to the ground. He raised his hand up to smack his younger self. Young Kazran looked absolutely terrified at the thought of being hit again. But, once again, he struggled to hit the child.

All of his changed memories set in as he realized something. He had become his father. He was exactly the man his father was.

Older Kazran burst into tears. He reached out for his younger self who backed away in fright. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. It's okay to be frightened."

He wrapped his arms around his twelve year old self, completely broken. "I'm so, so sorry."

The Doctor stepped forward slowly, careful to not ruin the moment. "Kazran. We don't have much time."

*** * * ***

Kazran worked at his control panel to lower the cloud layer as Jaime stood by younger Kazran. She was surprised he wasn't completely overwhelmed by everything.

"We good to go?" the Doctor asked.

"The controls, they won't respond," Kazran claimed.

"Of course they will, they're isomorphic, they're tuned to your brain waves, they'll only respond to you."

"They don't respond," Kazran insisted.

"That doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't they work?" Jaime asked, a hand on little Kazran's shoulder.

The Doctor froze in realization. "Oh. Oh, of course, stupid, stupid Doctor," he groaned.

"What's wrong, tell me, what is it?" Kazran asked, surprisingly gentle.

"It's you. It's you, I've changed you too much. The machine doesn't recognize you."

"I know my father programmed it-"

"No, your father would never have programmed it for the man you are now," the Doctor panicked.

"What do we do?" Jaime questioned.

"Um... um... I don't know, I don't know."

"There must be something," young Kazran said.

Older Kazran suddenly held up the half of the sonic screwdriver. "This. You can use this, I kept it, see?"

"What? Half a screwdriver?"

The Doctor froze again. "With the other half up in the sky in a big old shark right in the heart of the cloud layer. If we use your aerial to boost the signal and set up a resonation pattern between the two halves... Oh, come on, that would work. My screwdriver, coolest bit of kit on this planet, coolest two bits, it could do it."

"Do what?" Kazran asked.

"While my screwdriver's still trying to repair, it's signaling itself. We use the signal, but we send something else."

"Send what?" young Kazran asked.

The Doctor didn't reply as he knew they wouldn't like the answer.

"Well, what? What?"

The Doctor turned around with a sad face. "I'm sorry, Kazran. I truly am."

"I don't understand," he said worriedly.

"We need to transmit something into the cloud belt, something we know works. We need her to sing."

*** * * ***

"Her voice resonates perfectly with the ice crystals, it calmed the shark, it will calm the sky, too."

Jaime learned that a number was on the front of Abigail's chamber. Every time she left the chamber, the number would countdown. All of the Christmas Eves she spent with the Doctor and Kazran resulted in her days counting down.

If she left the chamber again, it'd be her last day.

"Could you do it?" Kazran asked. "Could you do this? Think about it, Doctor. One last day with your beloved. Which day would you choose?"

"Christmas," said a voice. They all turned to see Abigail. "Christmas Day."

Abigail shook her head when she saw Kazran. "Look at you. You're so old now. I think you waited a bit too long, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry," Kazran whimpered.

"Hoarding my days like an old miser."

"But if you leave the ice now..."

"We've had so many Christmas Eves, Kazran. I think it's time for Christmas Day."

*** * * ***

Jaime had never heard Abigail sing before. She knew her singing calmed the shark, but she never had a chance to listen. Claiming it sounded like an angel was an understatement. It was the most beautiful, melodious sound Jaime ever heard.

Outside, the Doctor wired his half of the sonic screwdriver up for Abigail to use as a microphone. She sang into it as the Doctor made last minute adjustments.

"Well?" Kazran asked impatiently.

"Well? The singing resonates in the crystals, it's feeding back and forth between the two halves of the screwdriver now. One song filling the sky. The crystals will align and I'll feed in a control phase loop and the clouds will unlock."

"What does that mean, unlock? What happens when a cloud unlocks?" young Kazran asked.

"Something that hasn't happened in this town for a very long time now."

As Abigail continued singing, the sky started to open up. And for the first time in what Jaime assumed was a very long time, it started to snow. The Doctor smiled proudly as he realized he just saved Christmas. Again.

*** * * ***

After young Kazran was back in his own time, the Doctor and Jaime found Amy and Rory. Jaime was confused when she saw Amy dressed as a police woman and Rory dressed as a Roman, but didn't ask.

"You know, that could almost be mistaken for a real person," Amy said as the Doctor examined a freshly made snowman. "Snowman isn't bad either."

Jaime snorted as the Doctor looked offended. "Ah, yes, you two, about time. Why are you dressed like that?"

"I, uh, kind of lost out luggage. Kind of crash landed?" Rory stuttered.

"Yeah, but why are you dressed like that at all?"

"Yeah, they really love their snowmen around here, don't they? I've counted about 20," Amy butted in.

"Yeah, I've been busy."

Amy smiled, hugging the Doctor. "Thank you."

"Pleasure. Right. Come on, then. Let's go," the Doctor said, starting towards the TARDIS.

"Got anymore honeymoon ideas?" Rory asked.

"Well, there's a moon that's made of actual honey, well, not _actual_ honey. And it's not actually a moon, and technically it's alive and a bit carnivorous, but there are some lovely views." The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS once they got back.

"Yeah? Great. Thanks," Rory said, walking into the TARDIS, Jaime behind him.

The Doctor and Amy stayed back for a moment, until the phone rang. Rory answered it and had a very confused look on his face. He quickly went to the door to get the Doctor.

"Uh, your phone was ringing. Someone called Marilyn. Actually sounds like _the_ Marilyn."

"Tell her I'll phone her back and that was never a real chapel," the Doctor said with a wide eyed look.

Amy walked in, running up to Jaime and hugging her tightly. "How did you hold up? Sorry to leave you with the Doctor."

Jaime laughed. "No, no, it was fine. Wasn't too bad."

Amy rose an eyebrow. "Too bad?"

She shrugged. "Just... an adventure with the Doctor like always."

"Yeah, does seem like that, doesn't it?"

Amy brushed some snow out of Jaime's hair. "You know, if you ever happen to get tired of the Doctor... you could stay with Rory and I. We'd love to have you whenever you want."

Jaime smiled. "I'd love that. Merry Christmas, Amy."

Amy pinched her cheeks teasingly. "Merry Christmas, you goof."


	15. The Impossible Astronaut

Amy and Rory had recently just moved into their new house. They'd been having nice, quiet lives ever since they said goodbye to the Doctor. It wasn't permanent, of course, but they hadn't seen him in two months.

Rory just got home with bags of groceries in his hands. While he was out, Amy had been busy trying to find the Doctor. She swore she was onto something.

"_At the personal intervention of the King, the unnamed Doctor was incarcerated without trial in the Tower of London_," she read from an old book she found.

"Okay, but it doesn't have to be him," Rory protested.

"_According to contemporary accounts, two nights later, a magical sphere, some 20 feet across, was seen floating away from the Tower, bearing the mysterious Doctor aloft_."

Rory sighed. "Okay, it's him. Where's Jaime?"

"Oh, you know, in her room again, bored as ever. Probably reading."

*** * * ***

Sprawled out on her bed, Jaime's nose was buried in a book to entertain herself. After their honeymoon, Amy and Rory told her that if she ever wanted to get a break from traveling through space or running away from danger, she could live with them.

This was one of those times. The Doctor said he had things to do and dropped Jaime off with the Ponds. She was upset at first, but she knew he wouldn't be gone forever. He couldn't be... right?

Amy and Rory made sure she felt welcome in their home. She had her own room and everything. It was like a regular home family within her TARDIS traveling family.

Suddenly, she heard a light tapping on her window. Jaime jumped up, slamming her book shut. She was on the second story of the house. How could something be tapping on her window?

She slowly got up, and opened her transparent curtains. On the outside window sill was an envelope. A TARDIS blue envelope. That wasn't there before...

Jaime opened the window enough to grab the envelope before it fell. Closing her window, she examined the envelope. Her name was written on the cover and stamps were all over. If it was mailed to her, why was it at her window?

She opened the envelope to find a card inside. On the card was coordinates along with the time 16:30 MDT and the date 22/4/11. The card wasn't signed, but Jaime knew who it was from.

She went downstairs to see Amy opening a similar envelope. "A date, a time, a map reference. I think it's an invitation."

"From who?" Rory asked.

"It's not signed. Look, TARDIS blue."

*** * * ***

Jaime never thought she'd go back to America. She was born there, but didn't remember a bit of it. They discovered that the coordinates lead them to a place called Utah. As far as she could tell, it was quite boring.

Rory, Amy, and herself just recently hopped on a bus to their location. Jaime never thought America looked so... flat. There were a few rock structures, but other than that, it was incredibly dull.

She was relieved when she got off the stuffy, yellow bus. Rory was the first to get off, followed by Jaime. She struggled with her giant backpack that Amy insisted she bring, like she was her mother.

"This is it, yeah? The right place?" Amy asked once the bus started to leave.

"Uh, nowhere, middle of? Yeah, this is it," Rory said sarcastically.

"Howdy," spoke a familiar voice. On the other side of the deserted road was the Doctor in a Stetson, sitting on a _very_ nice red car.

"Doctor!" Amy cried.

He laughed loudly. "It's the Pond!" Amy ran over as he jumped off the car. Jaime laughed as they hugged each other and the Doctor hugged Rory. She walked over meekly as they talked, not paying attention to her.

Once she was at Rory's side, the Doctor stopped talking immediately. Jaime started to smile, but stopped in confusion. He looked like he hadn't see her in decades. He was happy and sad at the same time, like he was remembering something.

Jaime looked at him weirdly. "Doctor?" she asked.

She squeaked in surprise when he suddenly picked her up and spun her around. "Jemma Woods! Oh, quiet, little Jaime, how are you?" he asked, setting her down.

Once her feet touched the ground, she broke into a large grin. "Fantastic!"

She was glad to see that he was happy to see her. Almost a little too happy. Jaime noticed that Amy and Rory also looked a bit confused, but didn't say anything.

"Nice hat," she complimented before the atmosphere could get any more strange.

"I wear a Stetson now. Stetsons are cool," he said smugly.

Suddenly, a gun shot rang out and the Stetson flew right off his head. Jaime turned to see River Song with a pistol in hand.

"Hello, sweetie."

*** * * ***

"Right, then, where are we? Have we done Easter Island yet?" River asked the Doctor.

"Um... yes! I've got Easter Island," he replied, flipping through his journal.

The Doctor had taken them all to a small cafe a ways down the road. Amy, Rory, and Jaime were currently ordering sodas while the Doctor and River sat in a booth. They all scooted into the booth and Jaime squeezed in between him and Amy, and Rory sat next to River.

"Jim the Fish," the Doctor spoke.

"Oh, Jim the Fish! How is he?" River said gleefully.

"Sorry, what are you two doing?" Rory asked.

"They're both time travelers, so they never meet in the right order. They're syncing their diaries," Amy explained. "So, what's happening, then? Because you've been up to something."

The Doctor smiled. "I've been running... faster than I've ever run, and I've been running my whole life. Now it's time for me to stop. And tonight, I'm going to need you all with me."

Jaime was confused. It almost sounded like... something was coming to an end. _No, you're just being overdramatic_, she thought.

"Okay. We're here, what's up?" Amy asked.

"A picnic. And then a trip. Somewhere different, somewhere brand new."

"Where?" Jaime asked in excitement.

The Doctor grinned at her before answering. "Space. 1969."

*** * * ***

The five friends discovered a lovely secluded area called Lake Silencio. It wasn't much, but Jaime loved it. It was her favorite part about America so far. They were currently in the middle of a picnic on the sand by the water.

Everyone clinked their glasses of wine together after the toast. "So when are we going to 1969?" Rory asked.

"And since when do you drink wine?" Amy included as the Doctor examined the bottle.

"I'm 1,103. I must've drunk it sometime," the Doctor countered. He took a swig of it before promptly spitting it out. "Oh, why, it's horrid! I thought it would taste more like the gums."

"1,103? You were 908 the last time we saw you," Amy pointed out.

"And you've put on a couple of pounds, I wasn't going to mention it."

Jaime laughed and inspected her glass of wine. Should she really be drinking this? She _did_ just turn seventeen. Eh, what's the harm? As she lifted the glass to her lips, Amy jumped up from her spot on the blanket.

"Oh, no you don't," she scolded, snatching the glass from her hand.

"I was just going to try it," she protested.

"You're too young for this sort of stuff." Jaime huffed. If she didn't feel excluded before, she certainly did now.

"What do you mean she's too young?" the Doctor asked genuinely, gazing up at Amy. "Of course she's old enough for it."

Amy gaped at him. "She's seventeen! She's too young."

"Never stopped her," the Doctor mumbled loud enough for Jaime to hear. What was that supposed to mean?

She looked out in the distance when she heard a strange sound. It seemed like she was the only one who heard it. Up on the hill nearby stood a tall figure. She couldn't tell who it was.

"Who's that?" she asked aloud.

"Hmm? Who's who?" Rory asked.

She turned to face him when her mind went blank. "Sorry, what?"

"What did you see? You said you saw something," Amy asked.

"No, I didn't," Jaime protested. Everyone gave her weird looks before brushing it off as nothing.

"Ah! The moon. Look at it," the Doctor marveled. "Of course, you lot did a lot more than look, didn't you? A big silvery thing in the sky, you couldn't resist it. Quite right."

"The moon landing was in '69," Rory realized. "Is that where we're going?"

"Oh, well, a lot more happens in '69 than anyone remembers. Human beings. I thought I'd never get done saving you."

Suddenly, a truck pulled up behind them on the side of the hill. The Doctor got to his feet with a solemn look on his face. He waved to the man in the truck who returned the gesture.

"Who's he?" Amy asked.

"Oh, my God," River marveled as she looked out at the lake. Just a couple of feet in the water stood an astronaut.

Jaime could've sworn she was seeing things, but everyone else saw it. An astronaut in Lake Silencio. It slowly made its way to the shoreline as the Doctor stepped forward.

"You all need to stay back," he warned. "Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?"

The Doctor gave them a sad look that scared Jaime. What scared her even more was when he looked at her, but quickly looked away as if it caused him pain.

The astronaut stopped at the end of the beach, waiting as the Doctor walked up to it. Was it someone he knew?

"That's an astronaut," Rory spoke. "That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake-"

"Look," Amy silenced him.

The Doctor stood before the astronaut and seemed to be talking to whoever was inside. Suddenly, the astronaut raised its arm up to face the Doctor.

"What's he doing?" Jaime whispered to Amy.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and the Doctor fell to the ground. "Doctor!" Amy and Jaime ran to help him, but Rory and River stopped the two of them.

"Amy, stay back!" River cried as Rory stopped Jaime from running. She fought even more as the Doctor was shot again.

They all stopped to watch him get to his feet. His body seemed to be glowing a bright golden color. What was happening? Was this the regeneration thing he once talked about?

Suddenly, the astronaut shot him once more, keeping him on the ground. "No!" Jaime cried out.

River released Amy as they all ran to his body. The astronaut made its way back into the lake as the four companions ran to their friend. River quickly scanned the Doctor to see if he was alive. "River. River!" Amy cried as she kneeled beside him.

The scanner beeped an ominous sound as River's face fell. "No. No," Amy whimpered. River got to her feet as she pulled out her pistol. She repeatedly fired at the astronaut until she ran out of bullets and the astronaut disappeared.

Amy rocked herself back and forth as Rory looked on in shock. Jaime couldn't feel anything. She was absolutely numb. All she could do was stare down at the Doctor's body.

"River, he can't be dead," Amy cried. "This isn't possible."

"Whatever that was, it killed him in the middle of his regeneration cycle. His body was already dead. He didn't make it to the next one," River said sadly. How she managed to keep herself from breaking down was beyond Jaime.

"But maybe he's a clone or a duplicate or something," Amy theorized.

"I believe I can save you some time," an American voice spoke from behind. It was the old man from the truck carrying a container of gasoline. "That most certainly is the Doctor. And he is most certainly dead. He said you'd need this."

The man set down the small tank of gasoline as Amy struggled to keep herself together. "Gasoline?" Rory asked.

"A Time Lord's body is a miracle, even a dead one. There are whole empires out there who'd rip this world apart for just one cell. We can't leave him here. Or anywhere."

Amy crawled onto her knees in front of the Doctor. "Wake up," she whispered. "Go on, wake up, you stupid, bloody idiot."

She rested her head on his chest as she continued to cry. Jaime couldn't take it anymore and walked away silently. She didn't care if it looked weird. The others didn't try to stop her. They knew she needed some space. She waited for a few hours, watching as the others set the Doctor in a boat before sending him out in the lake to burn his body.

Once the deed was done, Jaime let herself reunite with the group, but she didn't say a word. She didn't even know if she _could_ speak anymore. The old man from before was still there, helping in any way he could.

"Who are you?" River asked softly. "Why did you come?"

"The same reason as you," he said, pulling out the same blue envelope the others received.

River noticed that the back of his envelope had the number five. She pulled out her envelope to see the number three.

"Dr. Song. Amy. Rory. Jemma," the man said, proving he knew them. "I'm Canton Everett Delaware III. I won't be seeing you again, but you'll be seeing me." He picked up his gasoline before walking back to his truck.

"Five," River spoke.

"Sorry, what?" Rory asked.

"The Doctor numbered the envelopes."

*** * * ***

"You got four, I was three, Jaime was two, Mr. Delaware was five." They made their way back to the diner they were at earlier today.

"So?" Rory asked.

"So where's one?" 

"What, you think he invited someone else?"

"Well, he must have. He planned all of this to the last detail."

"Will you two shut up? It doesn't matter," Amy sighed.

"He was up to something," River continued.

"He's dead."

"Space 1969. What did he mean?" River asked Rory as Jaime awkwardly stood off to the side.

Amy glared at River. "You're still talking, but it doesn't matter."

"Hey, it mattered to him," Rory protested.

"So it matters to us," River said.

"He's dead," Amy repeated, fed up.

"But he still needs us. I know. Amy, I know. But right now, we have to focus."

"Look," Rory spoke. On the far table sat a blue envelope. Written on it was the number one.

"The Doctor knew he was going to his death, so he sent out messages," River said. "When you know it's the end, who do you call?"

"Uh, your friends, people you trust," Rory said.

Jaime's mind went blank. Her envelope had the number two. Did the Doctor trust her more than River and the Ponds? "Number one. Who did the Doctor trust the most?" River asked.

Suddenly, the backdoor opened as a figure walked through. It was the Doctor. Jaime's head swelled. This day was just getting more confusing and painful. He smiled as if it was one of the happiest days of his life.

"This is cold," River growled. "Even by your standards, this is cold."

"Or 'hello', as people used to say."

"Doctor?" Amy asked in shock. She walked up to him in examinination. "You're okay. How can you be okay?"

"Hey, of course I'm okay," the Doctor said softly, hugging Amy. "I'm always okay. I'm the king of okay. Oh, that's a rubbish title. Forget that title. Rory the Roman! That's a good title. Hello, Rory."

Rory stared at him in confusion, but the Doctor didn't seem to notice. Everything was just dandy to him. Jaime flinched when he turned to her, fluffing her hair in greeting. "Ah, Jaime, timid as always," he spoke with a smile.

The Doctor turned to face River. "And Dr. River Song. Oh, you bad, bad girl. What trouble have you got for me this time?" He was cut off by a sharp slap to the cheek. "I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet."

"Yes, it is," River seethed.

The Doctor groaned inwardly. "Good. Looking forward to it."

"I don't understand. How can you be here?" Rory asked, poking the Doctor.

"I was invited," he stated. "Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume. Otherwise, it's a hell of a coincidence."

"River, what's going on?" Jaime asked.

"Amy, ask him what age he is," River said.

"That's a bit personal," the Doctor added.

"Tell her," River commanded. "Tell her what age you are."

"909."

"Yeah, but you said you were..." Amy trailed off.

"So where does that leave us, huh?" River asked, "Jim the Fish? Have we done Jim the Fish yet?"

"Who's Jim the Fish?" the Doctor asked curiously.

"I don't understand," Amy confirmed.

"Yeah, you do," Rory spoke, telling her something with his eyes.

"I don't! What are we all doing here?" the Doctor butted in.

The four companions went quiet, trying to make up a good excuse for being out in the middle of nowhere. "We've been recruited. Something to do with space, 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware III," River said carefully.

"Recruited by who?" the Doctor asked, chewing on his straw.

"Someone who trusts you more than anybody else in the universe."

"And who's that?"

River sighed. "Spoilers."

*** * * ***

Everyone was back on the TARDIS which made Jaime feel a bit better about everything. The Doctor was more than thrilled to have all of his friends back on the TARDIS, even if none of them spoke to him.

Something Jaime noticed was the Doctor didn't act as close to her as he did at the lake. The lake was the only time he really paid attention to her. Usually when they were with Amy or Rory, the Doctor spent more time talking to them. So why was he acting different now?

"1969, that's an easy one! Funny how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches. Now then, Canton Everett Delaware III. That was his name, yeah? How many of those can there be? Well, three, I suppose."

Amy quickly went down the stairs, under the console. River quickly joined her along with Jaime. Rory was left standing with the Doctor awkwardly. "Rory, is everybody cross with me for some reason?" he asked calmly.

"I'll find out," he said, following the girls. Jaime leaned against the staircase, catching bits and pieces of River and Amy's hushed conversation.

"The Doctor we saw on the beach is a future version."

"But all that's still going to happen, he's still going to die?"

"We're not all going to arrange our own wake and invite ourselves."

"We have to tell him."

"We can't even tell him we've seen his future self."

Suddenly, the Doctor popped his head down from the top, causing Jaime to jump. "I'm being extremely clever up here and there's no one to stand around looking impressed! What's the point in having you all?"

River rolled her eyes. "Couldn't you just slap him sometimes?"

"River, we can't just let him die," Jaime said quietly.

Everyone stared at her, this being the first time she spoke since the Doctor died. River couldn't think of the right words to say as Jaime's big eyes looked up at her. River silently wrapped her arms around her who tensed at first. This was the first time the two of them had a real interaction. It was one that calmed Jaime down immensely.

"Time isn't a straight line," the Doctor explained as his companions gradually joined him.

"It's all bumpy-wumpy. There's loads of boring stuff, like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then, there are Saturdays, big, temporal tipping points when anything's possible. The TARDIS can't resist them, like a moth to a flame. She loves a party, so I gave her 1969 and NASA because that's space in the '60s, and Canton Everett Delaware III, and this is where she's pointing."

"Washington, DC. April the 8th, 1969," Amy read from the scanner. "So why haven't we landed?"

"Because that's not where we're going."

"Oh. Where are we going?" Rory asked.

"Home! Well, you two are, along with Jaime," he gestured to Amy and Rory. "Off you pop and make babies. Not around Jemma or she'll lose her innocence. And you, Dr. Song, back to prison. And me? I'm late for a biplane lesson in 1911. Or it could be knitting. Knitting or biplanes, one or the other."

The Doctor plopped down in his jump seat, head in his hand. The four of them looked at him curiously. "What?" he asked in exasperation. "A mysterious summons. You think I'm just going to go? Who sent those messages?"

Jaime looked at Amy, trying to make it as inconspicuous as possible.

"I know you know, I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that."

"You're going to have to trust us this time," River said.

"Trust you? Sure. But first of all, Dr. Song, just one thing. Who are you? You're someone from my future, getting that, but who?" River only gave him a sad look. "Okay. Why are you in prison? Who did you kill? Hmm? Now, I love a bad girl, me. But trust you? Seriously?"

"Trust me," Amy spoke up. "You have to do this and you can't ask why."

"Are you being threatened? Is someone making you say that?"

"No," she said unconvincingly.

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Swear to me. Swear to me on something that matters."

Amy looked like she panicked for a second before coming up with an answer."Fish fingers and custard."

The Doctor smiled softly. "My life in your hands, Amelia Pond. So! Canton Everett Delaware III. Who's he?" the Doctor asked, messing around with buttons.

"Ex-FBI. Got kicked out," River read from the scanner.

"Why?" he asked.

"Six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting."

"Yeah, 1969. Who's President?"

"Richard Milhous Nixon. Vietnam, Watergate. There's some good stuff, too."

"Not enough," the Doctor grumbled.

"Hippie!"

"Archaeologist. Okay, since I don't know what I'm getting into this time, for once, I'm being discreet, putting the engines on silent."

The Doctor flipped a switch, causing a loud sound to ring out. River quickly flipped another switch, making the sound cease. "Did you do something?" the Doctor asked.

"No, just watching," she brushed off. Jaime giggled as the Doctor gave her a look.

"Putting the outer shell on 'invisible'. Haven't done this in a while. Big drain on the power."

"You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" Jaime marveled.

Bright lights suddenly switched on as River sighed. "Very nearly," she whispered, pressing a button. The lights quickly dimmed.

"Uh, did you touch something?"

"Just admiring your skills, sweetie."

"Good. You might learn something. Okay," the Doctor said, fussing with the scanner. "Now, I can't check the scanner, it doesn't work when we're cloaked. Um... just give us a mo."

The Doctor quickly ran to the doors, stopping when Amy and Rory tried to follow him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You lot, wait a minute. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow."

He quietly stepped out of the TARDIS leaving the rest of the crew silent. Jaime sighed, looking around nervously. "Shouldn't one of us go with him? We left him alone, who knows what could happen?"

Before anyone could reply, the TARDIS shook heavily. River rolled her eyes. "Every time." 

She pulled the scanner to her, quickly working on it. "He said the scanner wouldn't work," Rory said.

"I know. Bless," she smirked, connecting various wires together.

The scanner suddenly pulled up a live shot of the Doctor currently face first in the Oval Office carpet. Multiple security guards came in, holding him down. "River, have you got my scanner working yet?!" he shouted.

"Oh, I hate him."

"No, you don't! River, make her blue again!" She quickly followed his instructions. Jaime watched as the security guards did double takes at the sight of the TARDIS. The Doctor managed to sneak his way into the office chair as if he owned the place.

"Mr. President, that child just told you everything you need to know, but you weren't listening. Never mind though, because the answer's yes. I'll take the case."

The Doctor looked around at all of the guns currently pointed at him. "Fellas, the guns, really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States, parked a big, blue box on the rug. Do you think you can just shoot me?" he taunted.

"They're Americans!" River shouted as Amy, Rory, Jaime, and herself exited the TARIDS. All of the guns immediately turned to them.

"Don't shoot, definitely no shooting," the Doctor said.

"No need to shoot us, either. Very much not in need of getting shot. Look, we've got our hands up," Rory pleaded.

"Who the hell are you?" the President ordered.

"Sir, you need to stay back," a man ordered.

"But who are they and what is that box?" the President questioned.

"It's a police box. Can't you read?" the Doctor asked snidely. "I'm your new undercover agent, on loan from Scotland Yard. Codename: The Doctor. These are my top operatives," he said, pointing to his companions. "The Legs, The Nose, The Mouse, and Mrs. Robinson."

"I hate you," River groaned.

"No, you don't."

"Who are you?" a guard asked.

"Nah, a boring question. Who's phoning you? That's interesting. Because Canton III is right, that was definitely a girl's voice, which means there's only one place in America she can be phoning from."

"Where?" the man who Jaime assumed was Canton Everett Delaware III said.

"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr. Delaware," a guard ordered.

"You heard everything I heard. It's simple enough. Give me five minutes, I'll explain. On the other hand, lay a finger on me or my friends and you'll never, ever know."

"How did you get it in here?" Canton asked, pointing to the TARDIS. "I mean, you didn't carry it in."

"Clever, eh?"

"Love it."

The same guard from before snapped at Canton. "Do not compliment the intruder!"

"Five minutes?" Canton asked.

"Five," the Doctor smirked, holding up five fingers.

"Mr. President, that man is a clear and present danger to-"

"Mr. President, that man walked in here with a big, blue box and four of his friends and that's the man he walked past," Canton said, gesturing to the guard. "One of them's worth listening to. I say we give him five minutes, see if he delivers."

"Thanks, Canton," the Doctor smiled cheekily.

"If he doesn't, I'll shoot him myself."

"Not so thanks."

"Sir, I cannot recommend-"

"Shut up, Mr. Peterson!" the President snapped at the guard. He gave Canton a look, contemplating wether or not he should listen to him. "Alright."

"Five minutes," Canton confirmed with the Doctor.

The Doctor straightened up as some of the guns dropped down. "I'm going to need a SWAT team, ready to mobilize, street-level maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee, 12 Jammie Dodgers, and a fez."

"Get him his maps."

*** * * ***

A short while later, Jaime was on the verge of swimming in maps. They were spread out everywhere, on the floor, on the sofas, on the President's desk. It was chaotic.

"Why Florida?" Canton asked the Doctor who was busy examining a certain map.

"That's where NASA is. She mentioned a spaceman. NASA's where the spacemen live. Also, there's another lead I'm following," he finished quietly.

Amy perked up at the word "spaceman". She went over to River who sat on the floor around more maps. "A spaceman, like the one we saw at the lake," she observed.

"Maybe. Probably."

As River moved out of the way, Amy noticed a tall, rather frightening creature standing in the doorway. It was nothing like she'd ever seen before. It wore a suit and had a large, bulbous head. Wait... a suit? Was this the thing Jaime saw back at the lake?

"She forgot you," Amy said to herself.

"Amy?" Rory asked, blocking the creature from her view. "Who forgot what?"

Her mind went blank. "I don't know. I just-" Suddenly, she felt like she was on the verge of throwing up.

Rory gave her a worried look as she clutched her stomach. "Amy, what's wrong?"

"Amy?" River asked, noticing her discomfort. Jaime stood up, hoping nothing was terribly wrong.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked, grabbing another map.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Amy assured. "I'm just feeling a little sick."

"Are you sure? You look awful," Jaime observed, grabbing her arm that wasn't holding her stomach.

Amy gave her a pleading look, walking over to the security guard from earlier, bringing Jaime with her. "Excuse me, is there a toilet or something?"

"Sorry, ma'am, while this procedure's ongoing, you both must remain within the Oval Office."

Canton rolled his eyes. "Shut up and take them to the restroom."

The guard gave him a glare, signaling the other guard to take the two girls. "This way, ladies."

Jaime held onto Amy's arm as they were lead down a few hallways until they reached the restroom. As they were heading in, Amy turned to see the guard about to follow them.

"Actually, we can usually manage this alone," Amy assured, firmly grabbing Jaime's hand as if she was four years old.

The guard stepped back, letting the girls go in in peace. Once the door closed, Jaime sighed. "That wasn't awkward at all."

Amy nodded in agreement. As they went through one more door, she shrieked in surprise. It was the creature she saw just moments ago. Jaime hid behind her, not caring if she looked like a child.

Suddenly, Jaime realized something. "I've seen you before. You were at the lake."

"And here," Amy added.

"But I forgot... how did I forgot?" she said.

The creature only stood there, not making a sound besides chittering. It didn't appear to have a mouth, it was tall and skinny, wearing a tattered suit.

Amy stepped forward boldly. "What are you?"

Suddenly, a woman stepped out of a stall, not noticing the creature beside her. "Get back! Stay back from it," Amy warned.

The woman turned to the creature, and screamed in surprise. Then she started laughing. "Oh, my God! What is that? Is that a mask? Is that a Star Trek thing? Ben, is that you?"

"Get back from it, now!" Amy shouted.

The woman faced her, suddenly looking confused. "Back from what, honey?"

Amy looked at her as if she was stupid. "That."

The woman faced the creature, once again screaming in surprise. "Oh, my God! Look at that. Is that a Star Trek mask? Ben, that's got to be you."

"Amy..." Jaime whimpered from behind.

"Hang on, did I just say all that?" the woman wondered. She stepped closer to the creature, causing Jaime to grip Amy's shirt more. The woman faced her again. "Back, honey? Back from what?"

Suddenly, the lights started flickering. The woman chuckled. "Oh, those lights. They never fix them."

"Look behind you," Amy said softly.

"Honey, there is noth-" The creature had one of its long arms stretched out towards the woman. As she turned around, electricity shot out of the creature's hand, striking her in the chest. Jaime screamed, blocking her vision completely.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted. The woman was gone and the lights were back to normal. Jaime tried to regain her lost breath as Amy stared at the creature in disbelief.

"You didn't have to kill her. She couldn't even remember you. How does that work? We can only remember you while we're seeing you, is that it?"

Amy pulled out her phone, quickly snapping a picture of the monster before her. "Why did you have to kill her?"

"Joy," the creature spoke in a deep, ominous voice. "Her name was Joy. Your name is Amelia and you are Jemma. You will tell the Doctor."

"Tell him what?" Amy spoke, creeping closer to the door.

"What he must know. And what he must never know."

"How do you know about that?" Amy whispered. Jaime looked at her in confusion. What was she hiding from them? Jaime threw the door open, pulling Amy along with her.

They both ran through the main door, seeing the guard once again. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Amy said with a smile. "Much better, thanks."

"What's that?" the guard asked, looking down at her hands.

"It's my phone," she said, staring at it curiously.

"Your phone?"

"I have to tell the Doctor," Amy realized.

"Tell him what, ma'am?"

Amy's mind went blank as Jaime rubbed her aching head. "Sorry, I don't know why I said that."

*** * * ***

Jaime was relieved when they got back to the Oval Office. She didn't know why, but she felt she was lucky to be back here. The President's phone was ringing and Canton told him to answer it.

"Hello? This is President Nixon."

A young voice came through on the phone. "It's here! The spaceman's here! It's gonna get me! It's gonna eat me!"

The Doctor grabbed his blazer. "There's no time for a SWAT team, let's go. Mr. President, tell her help's on the way. Canton, on no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you."

Jaime quickly ran into the TARDIS along with Amy, Rory, and River. "What the hell are you doing?" Canton said, running into the TARDIS. Jaime had to keep herself from laughing at his face once they were in the TARDIS. The Doctor piloted away, rambling the whole way.

"Jefferson isn't a girl's name. It's not her name, either. Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. River?"

"Surnames of three of America's founding fathers," she answered.

"Lovely fellows. Two of them fancied me. You see, the President asked the child two questions, 'Where are you?' and 'Who are you?'. She was answering 'where'. Now, where would you find three big historical names in a row like that?"

"Where?" Jaime asked.

"Here."

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor ran for the doors. Canton quickly stopped him. "It's, uh..."

"Are you taking care of this?" the Doctor asked Rory, running past Canton.

"Why is it always my turn?" Rory complained.

"Because you're the newest after Jaime," Amy answered, pecking his cheek.

"Where are we?" Jaime asked. The building they were in had poor lighting and looked almost abandoned.

"About five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Center," the Doctor answered. "It's 1969, the year of the moon. Interesting, don't you think?"

"But why would a little girl be here?" Amy asked.

"I don't know. Lost me a bit. The President asked the girl where she was and she did what any lost little girl would do. She looked out the window."

The Doctor pulled the blinds on the window, revealing the night sky. Right outside were three different street names. Jefferson Street, Adams Street, and Hamilton Avenue.

"Streets! Of course, street names," Amy spoke.

"The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction. And Dr. Song, you've got that face on again."

"What face?"

"The 'he's hot when he's clever' face." Jaime rolled her eyes.

"This is my normal face."

"Yes, it is."

Jaime groaned. "Please, any other time would be lovely. Preferably when I'm not around."

Canton came out of the TARDIS, doing the world's biggest double take. "We've moved. How can we have moved?"

"You haven't even got to space travel yet," the Doctor marveled.

"I was going to cover it with time travel," Rory whined.

"Time travel?"

"Braveheart Canton, come on," the Doctor ordered.

Down the hallway was a very dark, very trashed room. "It's a warehouse of some kind, disused," River explained.

"You realize this is almost certainly a trap, of course?" the Doctor added.

"I noticed the phone, yes."

"What about it?" Jaime asked, following closely, so she wouldn't get lost in the dark.

"It was cut off. So how did the child phone from here?" River asked.

"Okay, but why would anyone want to trap us?" Jaime asked again.

"Dunno. Let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards," the Doctor planned.

"Now, why would a little girl be here?" River wondered.

"I don't know. Let's find her and ask her," the Doctor said.

Jaime followed as close as she could, trying to not get lost or run into one of the many items strewn about. She ended up zoning out for the remainder of their expedition. So many thoughts were running through her head. This had been a rough day for her.

First, she traveled all the way to America to find the Doctor. They all find him, but then he dies. A few hours later, he's alive again. Then they proceed to break into the White House in search of some little girl who's in danger because of a spaceman. Not your ordinary holiday.

River found a ladder that looked like it led down to a sewer. Being the brave time traveler she is, she went down to explore. Back up top, Jaime stayed with Amy who didn't seem to be getting sick of her wussy self.

A few minutes later, the Doctor sent Rory down to explore with River. Only Amy, the Doctor, Jaime, and Canton remained up top. Jaime found some lovely boxes to sit on to make sure she didn't get in anyones way.

Suddenly, a voice cried out. "Help me!"

Canton pulled out a gun as Jaime jumped off her box. "That's her." He ran towards the voice and Jaime was about to follow him until Amy groaned in pain.

"Amy?" The Doctor grabbed her arm as the girl kept crying out for help.

"What's wrong?" Jaime asked, standing next to the Doctor.

"I need to tell you something. It's important. It's really, really important," Amy told him. Canton shouted for the Doctor's help, but he was struggling to leave Amy.

"What, now?" The Doctor pulled the girls towards Canton's voice. After turning a few corners, they all found an open space and Canton was unconscious on the floor.

"Canton! Canton, are you okay?" the Doctor asked, running up to him.

"Is he alright?" Amy asked.

"Just unconscious. Got a proper whack."

"Doctor, I need to tell you something. I have to tell you it now," Amy insisted.

"Not a great moment."

"No, it's important. It had to be now."

Suddenly, the girl cried out for help again. Amy quickly knelt down in front of the Doctor as Jaime stood by. "Doctor... I'm pregnant."

Before anyone could react, a loud thudding came from behind. There stood the spaceman that was in Lake Silencio. "That's it, the astronaut," Amy spoke.

Jaime stared at it in fear. She was hoping she'd never have to see it again. Suddenly, Amy grabbed Canton's gun that lay on the floor. Everything seemed to fall into slow motion at that. The spaceman lifted it's helmet, revealing a little girl. "Help me!"

She was the astronaut.

"Get down!" Amy cried.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor shouted.

"Saving your life!"

Amy got to her feet, pointing the gun at the astronaut. She didn't notice it was the little girl they'd been trying to find. Jaime quickly grabbed Amy's arm, trying to face the gun away. But it was too late.

The gun went off.


	16. Day of the Moon

Amelia Pond didn't know why these things had to happen to her. All she knew was that she was in some place, July 1969. Maybe Utah? She couldn't be sure. They all looked the same to her.

At this point in time, Amy was being chased by agents, most likely FBI agents. Who knows why they wanted her. Besides, it had been three months since the thing in Florida happened. Why would they be after her now?

Amy ran down the dry desert, hoping for some help. She veered off the road as another government car came plummeting towards her. She lost all hope when she came to a cliff, no chance of escape.

The agents left their cars, guns pointed immediately. The leader was none other than Canton Everett Delaware III. He had a smug smile on his face as he approached Amy. She sneered, "Canton."

"Miss Pond." An agent set an empty, large black bag on the ground.

Amy's heart pounded away. "Is that a body bag?"

"Yes, it is."

"It's empty."

Canton smirked. "How 'bout that?"

"Do you even know why you're doing this, hey?" Amy stalled. Canton raised his gun, but Amy kept speaking. "Can you even remember? The warehouse?"

She couldn't say she was surprised when the gun fired, sending her to the rocky ground below. It was then that Canton saw the many tally marks on her arm.

*** * * ***

** _Area 51, Nevada_ **

The Doctor was currently sitting in a plastic chair, tangled up in a straitjacket and chains. Government officials scoured the warehouse, making sure there was no way he could escape. He watched as workers set to work, building a sort of prison.

He had grown a bit of a beard after being held prisoner for so long. He only hoped his companions were well, or in better conditions than himself.

Canton soon joined him. "We found Amy Pond. She had strange markings on her arm," he said, holding up a photo of Amy's arm. "Do you know what they are?"

"Why don't you ask her?" the Doctor replied.

Canton's silence let the Doctor know that simply speaking to Amy wasn't possible anymore.

*** * * ***

River Song was currently scaling the top of a large building in New York City. She had the same markings as Amy, only they covered both of her arms. The top floor of the building was in the middle of construction, but no one was there on this late night.

She turned towards a loud clank, seeing a figure come out from behind a plastic sheet. She quickly pulled out her pen.

"I see you," she spoke, starting a new mark on her skin. "I see you!" she said as a second one came into view.

"Dr. Song," a singsongy voice rang out. They found her. There was no going back now. River recognized the voice of Canton. She quickly ran through the plastic sheets, hoping for an easy escape. Sadly, it didn't come as she met the edge, narrowly plummeting to the streets of New York.

Canton smirked as he and his agents caught up. "It's over."

"They're here, Canton," River spoke. "They're everywhere."

"I know. America's being invaded," he sneered sarcastically.

"You were invaded a long time ago. America is occupied."

"You're coming with us, Dr. Song. There's no way out this time."

River smiled sadly. "There's always a way out." She held her arms out before falling backwards off the building. It was better than being taken by the FBI after all.

*** * * ***

"We found Dr. Song," Canton told the Doctor who intricately watched as a thick wall was built around him.

"These bricks, what are they made of? Where is she?" he asked when his first question wasn't answered.

"She ran. Off the 50th floor."

"I'd say zero-balanced dwarf star alloy," the Doctor answered his first question. "The densest material in the universe. Nothing gets through that. You're building me the perfect prison... and it still won't be enough."

*** * * ***

** _Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona_ **

Rory Williams bolted out of a door to be surrounded by FBI agents and certain death. The only way to escape them was to jump over the side of the dam. But he knew he wouldn't have the strength to do that.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked Canton, exasperated.

"I'm waiting for you to run. It'd look better if I shot you while you were running. Then again, looks aren't everything."

Rory squeezed his eyes shut in fear, falling to the ground once Canton's gun fired.

*** * * ***

** _Hollywood, California_ **

Jemma Woods was exhausted. She didn't know how long she had been running. After being alone for three months, She wished she could at least have some human contact. But she didn't want it in this form, chasing her down with guns.

As she ran across the hills of California, she could see the city of Hollywood just down the hill. Of course, no one would be suspicious of a teenage girl running through California with the FBI chasing her.

Her legs were about to collapse from exhaustion when a gun fired, shooting a bullet right at her feet. The surprise sent Jaime to the ground, too tired to get back up. The agents surrounded her, and she tried not to cower in fear.

She glared at Canton as he stepped forward. "You're making a mistake," she pleaded.

"Isn't it funny how they all say that?" His gun fired, keeping her on the ground.

*** * * ***

Canton smugly strolled over to the Doctor's completed prison, workers dragging three body bags over.

"Is there a reason you're doing this?" the Doctor asked as the workers laid the body bags around him.

"I want you to know where you stand."

"In a cell," the Doctor sneered.

"The perfect cell. Nothing can penetrate these walls. Not a sound, not a radio wave. Not the tiniest particle of anything."

Canton pressed a button, locking both him and the Doctor inside. "In here, you are literally cut off from the rest of the universe. So I guess they can't hear us, right?"

"Good work, Canton. Door sealed?"

"You bet." The Doctor quickly shook off his chains as Amy, Rory, and Jaime struggled to be free from their bags. The Doctor helped Jaime unzip hers as the three of them gasped for air. He grinned, kissing her head.

"Finally," Amy sighed.

"These things could really do with air holes," Rory complained.

"Never had a complaint before."

"Isn't it going to look odd that you're staying in here with us?" Amy asked Canton.

"Odd, but not alarming. They know there's no way out of this place."

"Exactly. Whatever they might think we're doing in here, they know we're not going anywhere."

The Doctor sighed, leaning against his invisible TARDIS. He snapped his fingers, opening the doors. "Shall we?"

"What about Dr. Song? She dove off a rooftop!" Canton said.

"Don't worry. She does that. Amy, Rory, Jaime, open all the doors to the swimming pool." The Doctor quickly flew the TARDIS elsewhere as the three companions ran to the swimming pool. Soon enough, River fell through the doors and into the pool. All according to plan, of course.

"So we know they're everywhere. Not just a landing party, an occupying force and they've been here a very, very long time," the Doctor spoke. It felt good to be back in his old clothes. "But nobody knows that, cause no one can remember them."

"So what are they up to?" Canton asked as River walked in, drying her hair.

"No idea. But the good news is... we've got a secret weapon."

The Doctor ran out of the TARDIS, having landed at NASA once again. "Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" River asked.

"No, no, it's not Apollo 11, that would be silly. It's Neil Armstrong's foot.

*** * * ***

After the Doctor shaved his face, he injected something into Canton's hand. "Ow!"

The Doctor only rambled on. "So, three months. What have we found out?"

"Well, they are everywhere. Every state in America. Ow!" Rory cried as the Doctor injected the same thing into Rory's hand.

"Not just America, the entire world," the Doctor said.

"There's a greater concentration here, though," River added.

The Doctor injected the thing into Amy who cried out in pain, glaring daggers at the Doctor. "You okay?" he asked.

"All better," Amy whispered.

"Better?"

"Turns out I was wrong. I'm... I'm not pregnant."

"What's up?" Rory asked, not looking pleased.

"Nothing. Really, nothing, seriously," Amy tried to convince.

"And you three let Jaime go off by herself?" the Doctor asked.

Jaime sighed. "Took a lot of convincing on my part. Hey!" she cried as the Doctor also injected her hand.

"So you've seen them, but you don't remember them," Canton said.

"You've seen them, too. That night at the warehouse, remember?" River asked. "While you were pretending to hunt us down, we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like."

"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away. The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything," Rory said.

"Sometimes you feel a bit sick, though, but not always," Amy said.

"So that's why you marked your skin?"

"Only way we'd know if we saw one," Jaime said.

"How long have they been here?" Canton asked.

"That's what we've spend the last three months trying to find out."

"Not easy, if you can't remember anything you discover," Rory huffs.

"But how long do you think?"

"As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye or creaking in your house or breathing under your bed or voices through a wall. They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head. We are not fighting an alien invasion. We're leading a revolution. And today the battle begins."

"How?"

"Like this." The Doctor quickly injected River's hand without her knowing. He laughed when she cried out. He held up the thing they all had in their hands. "Nano recorder. Fuses with the cartilage in your hand."

He quickly injected himself. "Then it tunes itself directly to the speech centers in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what. Telepathic connection. So the moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it..."

The Doctor pressed his hand, showing a red flashing button. "... and describe aloud exactly what you're seeing.

He pressed it once more, playing back exactly what he said. "Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened. The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand. If you've had an encounter, that's the first you'll know about it."

"Why didn't you tell me this before we started?" Canton asked.

"I did. But even information about these creatures erases itself over time. I couldn't refresh it cause I couldn't talk to you."

Canton looked behind himself, then turned to straighten the Doctor's bow tie. Everyone else was staring at him. "What? What are you staring at?"

"Look at your hand," River said.

Canton's hand was flashing red. "Why's it doing that?"

"What does it mean if the light's flashing? What did I just tell you?"

"I haven't..."

"Play it."

Canton pressed the light, his voice being heard. "_My God, how did it get in here?"_

"_Keep eye contact with the creature and when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie_," the Doctor's voice spoke.

"_What? What are you staring at?"_

"_Look at your hand_."

Canton looked behind himself to see the monster they'd been trying to find. "It's a hologram, extrapolated from the photo on Amy's phone. Take a good long look."

Suddenly, the hologram disappeared. "You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting. Describe it to me."

Canton went blank. "I can't."

"No. Neither can I. You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature."

"So they could do that to people. You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it," Amy said.

"Like post-hypnotic suggestion," Rory added.

"Ruling the world with post-hypnotic suggestion?" Amy asked.

"Now then, a little girl in a space suit. They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the girl?"

"Could be anywhere," Canton said.

"Except they probably stayed close to that warehouse, cause why bother doing anything else? And they take her from somewhere that will cause the least amount of attention. But you'll have to find her. I'm off to NASA."

"Find her? Where do we look?"

"Children's homes.

*** * * ***

Amy, Canton, and Jaime stood outside of a run down looking orphanage. Jaime didn't want to be here, but she decided she'd rather be with Amy, no offense to the others. Canton knocked on the door and an older man opened it hesitantly. "Hello?"

"FBI," Canton said, holding up his badge. "You must be Dr. Renfrew. Can we come in?"

"The children are asleep," he protested.

"We'll be very quiet," Amy assured.

"Is there a problem?"

"It's about a missing child.

"Well, what are you... Yes, yes, come in, please."

Jaime stood behind Amy, trying to make herself look as old and confident as she could. Thankfully, the man wasn't suspicious of a teenager being with the FBI.

"This way," he said, leading them to the staircase. Bold words were painted on the wall paper stripped walls.

"Please excuse the writing. It... keeps happening. I try to clean it up." Jaime gulped as she read **GET OUT, LEAVE NOW**.

"It's the kids, yeah? They do that?"Amy asked.

"Yes. The children. It must be, yes. Anyway, my office is this way."

Jaime was thoroughly creeped out. The man looked so lost, like he didn't know why he was here. He led them down a hallway and towards his office.

"We nearly didn't come to this place. I understood Graystark Hal was closed in '67."

"That's the plan, yes," the man replied.

"The plan?" Amy asked.

"Not long now," the man said.

"It's 1969."

"Uh, no, no. We close in '67. That's the plan, yes."

"You misunderstood me, sir. It's 1969 now," Canton said.

"Why are you saying that? Of course it isn't."

The man suddenly look terrified and started trembling. "M-My office is th-this way, this way." He ran into his office, passing more writing on the wall.

"We'll check upstairs," Amy told Canton, taking Jaime's hand.

Amy shone her flashlight and led a stiff Jaime up the stairs. Jaime shuddered. "This feels like some messed up ghost hunt."

Amy chuckled. "Don't get too used to it."

"Believe me, I won't miss it."

They came to a doorway at the top of the staircase. Amy pushed the door open to reveal a small rocking horse... that was still rocking. There were many bare beds, but none of them had children in them. It looked like the man was the only person here.

Amy took out her phone, quickly calling the Doctor as Jaime gazed out the window into the dark, rainy night. "I think we've found the place she was taken from," Amy told the Doctor.

_"How do you know?"_ the Doctor asked.

"Cause those things have been here. But the whole place is deserted. There's just one guy here and I think he's lost it."

_"Repeated memory wipes fry your head eventually. Find out what you can, but don't hang around."_

"Where are you?" Amy asked.

_"Gotta go. Got company."_ The Doctor hung up, leaving the girls alone. Suddenly, the door they just came through closed itself. Jaime jumped as Amy tried to get out, but the door was jammed.

Suddenly, Jaime found tears coming down her face. She looked down to see her hand flashing red. "Amy," she cried.

Amy turned around and Jaime showed her her hand. "Go on. Press it."

Jaime hesitantly pressed her hand as her recorded voice echoed.

_"Amy... do you see them? I think they're asleep."_ Jaime's voice started to cry. _"We have to leave. Please, we have to go!"_

Amy froze. She tried to open the door again, but it wouldn't budge. She tried the windows, but they were locked.

Suddenly, she looked down at her hands. They were covered in tally marks. How'd she see so many so quickly? She looked up at her reflection in horror. Her face was covered in tally marks. Jaime had marks on her skin, too.

Amy looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling was absolutely covered in them. They didn't seem to be moving. Amy slowly made her way towards the door, grabbing Jaime's hand and pulling her along. Suddenly, Amy ran into a bin, causing a loud noise.

The monsters noticed and made angry noises at her. Amy looked down, seeing the door swing open. Well, that wasn't creepy at all. The girls quickly left the room, ready to leave. But Amy felt that they should carry on.

They came to another small hallway with individual rooms. Suddenly, Amy gasped as the door's window hatches opened. A woman with curly hair and an eye patch looked over at her.

"Hello. Who are you?" Amy asked.

The woman turned away as if talking to someone else in the room. "No, I think she's just dreaming." Suddenly, the hatch slammed shut and Amy stared at it curiously.

"Amy? Who were you talking to?" Jaime asked.

"There's a woman in this room. She just looked through the hatch," Amy said opening the door. "Hello? I saw you looking through the ha-"

Amy stopped when she realized that the hatch was gone. Jaime looked at her worriedly. "Amy? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

The girls looked around the room to see the nicest room they'd seen here. There was no writing on the walls, there were sheets on the bed. It looked nicer than the others, though it wasn't that great.

There was a desk in the corner that had pictures and a lit lamp on top. The photos were of the little girl who was the same one in the astronaut's suit. Amy saw a photo behind one of the little girl with someone that looked awfully familiar.

Amy picked it up and gasped. It was a picture of her with a newborn baby. "How... how can that be me?" Jaime stared at it in confusion. She turned to see the astronaut walk into the room, blocking their exit. Amy shakily set the photo down.

"Who are you? I don't understand, so just tell me who you are!" Amy shouted. The astronaut lifted its face shield to reveal the little girl again. A crack was in the shield where Amy had shot.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shoot you. I'm glad I missed. But you killed the Doctor. Or you're... you're gonna kill him. But who are you? Just please tell me, because I don't understand!"

"Please help me. Help me, please," the girl said.

Jaime and Amy froze in fear as the monsters walked into the room. Amy screamed as the door slammed shut. Jaime closed her eyes, darkness consuming her.

*** * * ***

Downstairs, Canton and Dr. Renfrew were sifting through files in his office. A knock on the door alerted them, making Dr. Renfrew answer it. "Oh. It's just some questions. Yes, I see."

He closed the door, staring at the wall. "Who was that? Dr. Renfrew?" Dr. Renfrew sat in his chair, still zoned out. "Who was that?" Canton asked.

"Who was who?"

Canton walked to open the door, but stopped when the door opened itself. The monster from before stood in the doorway.

"What are you?" Canton asked, pressing his hand. "You can tell me. Cause I won't remember. You invaded us. You're everywhere."

Suddenly, Amy's voice cried out from upstairs. "Help me! Please. Canton, please, will you help me!"

"Are you armed?" Canton continued to ask.

"This world is ours. We have ruled it since the wheel and the fire. We have no need of weapons."

"Yeah?" Canton whipped out his gun, shooting the monster three times. "Welcome to America."

He ran off, quickly running upstairs to find Amy and Jaime. After calling the Doctor for help, Canton continued searching for the girls. Suddenly, he heard Amy cry out from behind a door. "Help me! Please, I can't... I can't see! Somebody help me!"

"Amy!" Canton tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Amy, can you hear me? Amy, I'm going to try to blow the lock. I need you to stand back."

Suddenly, the Doctor, River, and Rory ran up the stairs. "Okay, gun down, I've got it!" the Doctor said.

"Amy, we're here, are you okay?" Rory shouted.

"I can't see! Where's Jaime?" Amy sobbed from behind the door.

"Jaime's with her?" River said. Canton nodded.

The Doctor sonicked the door, finally getting it open. The room was empty. "Where is she, Doctor?" Rory asked.

All that remained was an empty astronaut suit. Amy kept speaking even though she clearly wasn't in the room. _"It's dark, so dark. I don't know where I am. Please, can anybody hear me?" _

Rory looked down to see Amy's nano recorder sitting on the floor, flashing red. "They took this out of her," he said in horror. "How did they do that, Doctor? Why can I still hear her?"

"Is it a recording?" River asked.

The Doctor sonicked it, his face turning grim. "Um, it defaults to live. This is current. Wherever she is right now, this is what she's saying."

"Amy, can you hear me? We're coming for you," Rory spoke into the recorder. "Wherever you are, we're coming, I swear."

"She can't hear you," the Doctor said sadly. "I'm so sorry. It's one-way."

Rory turned to him. "She can always hear me, Doctor. Always, wherever she is and she always knows that I am coming for her, do you understand me? Always."

"Doctor..." River said grimly.

They all turned to face her as she held a similar nano recorder. This one was crushed, as if it had been stepped on. The Doctor sighed heavily. "No, no, not Jaime," he whispered.

"It's broken. She could be saying anything, but we don't know. We don't know if she's alive," Rory said.

_"Doctor, are you out there?"_ Amy asked. _"Can you hear me? Doctor? Oh, God. Please, please, Doctor, just get me out of this."_

"He's coming. I'll bring him, I swear," Rory said with no emotion.

"Hello? Is somebody there?" Dr. Renfrew walked in to be greeted with Canton's gun. "I, I think someone has been shot. I think we should help. We... I can't... I can't remember."

The four of them followed Dr. Renfrew to his office to see the monster that Canton shot earlier laying on the floor in pain. The Doctor knelt down next to it. "Who and what are you?"

"Silence, Doctor," the monster hissed. "We are the Silence. And Silence will fall."

*** * * * **

Amy Pond wasn't able to see anything until now. Bright lights suddenly flipped on to reveal that she was strapped to some sort of vertical table. "Where am I? Where is this?"  
  
  


In front of her stood a large console with the monsters standing around it as if controlling it. "You are Amelia Pond," one of the monsters spoke.

"You're ugly, has anyone mentioned that to you?" she growled.

"She is Jemma Woods," it spoke, looking over at Jaime who was in the same situation as Amy, only unconscious. "We do you honor. You will bring the Silence. But your part will soon be over. For both of you."

"Whatever that means, you've made a big mistake bringing me here, cause wait till you see what's coming for you now."

"You have been here many days."

"No. I just got here. You just put me in here."

"Your memory is weak. You have been here many days," it insisted.

"No. No, I can't have been."

"You will sleep now." The monster got closer to Amy's face, causing her to struggle.

"No! No, get off me!"

"Sleep."

Suddenly, a loud engine noise rang out as the TARDIS came into view. Amy almost cried with joy when the Doctor, Rory, and River walked out.

"Oh! Interesting. Very Aickman Road, I've seen one of these before. Abandoned. Wonder how that happened? Oh, well! I suppose I'm about to find out. Rory, River, keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times."

The Doctor looked over to the Silent by Amy. "Oh, hello, sorry. You're in the middle of something. Just had to say, though, have you seen what's on the telly?" he asked, carrying in an old telly.

"Oh, hello, Amy, you alright? Want to watch some television? Someone better wake Jemma, she'll miss the whole show."

Rory started to make his way to Jaime, but stopped when a few of the Silence started moving.

"Ah, now, stay where you are," the Doctor ordered. "Cause look at me, I'm confident. You want to watch that, me, when I'm confident."

Rory took the chance to go to Jaime's side, gently shaking her awake. "Jaime. Hey, Jaime, it's Rory."

Jaime jumped awake, gasping. Rory quickly quieted her down. "Hey, hey, it's okay. We got you, you're safe now." He then tried to free her bonds, but it didn't seem to be working. Meanwhile, the Doctor continued to ramble to the Silence.

Jaime realized that Rory wasn't going to get her free anytime soon. "Rory, go help Amy."

"But you're still-"

"I know, but she needs you. Go on, I'll be fine." Rory nodded before going over to try and free Amy.

The telly suddenly showed a screen of the famous moon landing. "Guys, sorry, but you're way out of time. Now, come on, a bit of history for you. Aren't you proud? Because you helped." The Doctor walked over to the telly.

"Now, do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly? Half a billion, and that's nothing, cause the human race will spread out among the stars, you just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years. And every single one of them at some point in their lives will look back at this man taking that very first step, and they will never, ever forget it."

Everyone stopped to watch the screen right as the Apollo 11 was about to take off. "Oh. But they'll forget this bit."

Suddenly, a video of the injured Silent appears. "_You should kill us all on sight_." And it played over and over.

"You've given the order for your own execution and the whole planet just heard you."

The screen flashed back as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. _"One giant leap for mankind."_

"And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence! You just raised an army against yourself. And now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day. How fast can you run? Cause today's the day the human race throw you off their planet. They won't even know they're doing it. I think quite possibly the word you're looking for right now is, 'Oops!'."

The Silent slowly opened its mouth, electricity started to crackle. "Run. Guys, I mean us. Run!" the Doctor shouted.

River started shooting at the Silence and Rory struggled to free Amy. "I can't get her out!"

"Go, just go!" Amy cried.

"We are not leaving without you!" Rory insisted.

River fired at the Silence as their console started sparking and smoking. "Run! Into the TARDIS, quickly!"

The Doctor quickly freed Amy with his sonic and then went to Jaime. "Ah, Jemma! How've you been?"

"Oh, just peachy!" she cried, as the Doctor pulled her towards the TARDIS.

He stopped to fight off the Silence, passing Jaime to Rory as he passed by with Amy. They quickly ran into the TARDIS, Jaime collapsing onto a seat. It felt good to be back.

A few seconds later, the Doctor ran in, completely out of breath. Rory poked his head out to see all of the Silence dead on the floor. River came in soon after, flipping switches on the TARDIS console.

"You can let me fly it!" the Doctor grumbled.

"Yeah, or we could go where we're supposed to."

*** * * * **

"So we're safe again." President Nixon shook the Doctor's hand, back in the Oval Office where it all started.

"Safe? No, of course you're not safe. There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world. But if you want to pretend you're safe just so you can sleep at night, okay, you're safe. But you're not really."

Jaime had to stifle a laugh at the look on the President's face. The Doctor turned to face Canton behind him. "Canton. Till the next one, eh?"

"Looking forward to it."

"Canton just wants to get married," the Doctor told the President. "Helluva reason to kick him out of the FBI."

"I'm sure something can be arranged."

"I'm counting on you," the Doctor said.

"Er, Doctor... Canton here tells me you're... you're from the future. Hardly seems possible, but I was wondering-"

"Should warn you. I don't answer a lot of questions."

"But I'm a president at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask? Will I be remembered?"

"Oh, Dicky. Tricky Dicky. They're never going to forget you. Say hi to David Frost for me."

"David Frost?"

*** * * ***

"Rory, I'm going to need thermo couplings. The green ones and the blue ones."

River had just been dropped off and everyone was back, safely in the TARDIS. Once Rory disappeared down the stairs, the Doctor and Amy struck up a conversation. Jaime tried to not eavesdrop, but she couldn't help it.

"You told me you were pregnant," the Doctor said to Amy.

"Yes," Amy said hesitantly.

"Why?"

"Cause I was. I mean, I... I thought I was. Turns out I wasn't."

"No, why did you tell me?"

"Because you're my friend. You're my best friend."

Jaime started feeling bad for listening in. Once Rory came back in, she managed to sneak out of the room without anyone knowing. She had no idea where to go, but anywhere was good beside the console room.

*** * * ***

After the Silence and America, the Doctor thought it would be nice for the four of them to go on a trip. Something to calm their minds from their encounter with the Silence.

Since Jaime disappeared after they all were reunited, Amy set off to look for her. She didn't want Jaime to feel left out if they went somewhere without her.

Amy was worried she wouldn't find Jaime in time. The Doctor only has so much patience. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes. Amy slowly opened the door to Jaime's room, expecting she'd be present. "Jaime? You in here?"

The girl in question was laying on her bed, fiddling with a small silver box. She quickly shoved it under her pillow when Amy walked in. Amy smiled warmly, nonetheless.

"Hey, kiddo. The Doctor wants to take us on an adventure and we were wondering if you wanted to come along."

"No thanks. I'm perfectly fine, sitting in here," she sighed.

That didn't sound like Jaime. Amy calmly walked over and sat down on the bed. "What's up?"

Jaime was about to protest, but Amy stopped her. "Don't think about lying cause that's not gonna do you any good. Just tell me the truth."

Jaime sighed again, looking like she was in pain. "I'm just tired, Amy. This last adventure wasn't exactly pleasant," she sneered.

"I just knew how upset you'd be if you found out we went somewhere without you."

Jaime sat up in annoyance. "Amy, just go please. I'm exhausted. Go have your little adventure, I don't care."

Amy was shocked at Jaime's words. She never talked like that. "Jaime, I know you're tired, but that's no excuse-"

"Are you kidding me?" she snapped, getting off her bed. Amy stood up, feeling that Jaime was about to lash out. "Why are you always pestering me? Did you even think there was a reason why I wanted to be alone?"

"I was just asking if you wanted to go with us. I know how much it means to you," Amy spoke calmly.

"I don't know why you're always bothering me. Just because we're the only girls here doesn't mean we always have to be buddy-buddy!" Jaime snapped, glaring at the red head.

Amy was already trying to not lose her temper, but it was getting difficult. "Jemma Woods, what has gotten into you?"

Jaime boiled over, clenching her fists. "Don't call me that! The only person who was ever allowed to call me that was my mum!"

"Why are you bringing her into this? I never mentioned your mum."

"You know how much I hate my name. The fact that my mum called me that doesn't make it any better! Do you not realize how painful that is?"

Amy put her hands on Jaime's shoulders, pushing her onto the bed. "Jaime, I know you don't mean any of this. You just need to go to bed-"

Jaime slapped her hands away, making Amy flinch. "There you go again, acting like a mum! You're not my mum, Amy, and you never will be! So quit acting like you are!"

That was the last straw. If she was going on like this, she was gonna get what was coming. "Jemma Woods, I acted like your mother because I was trying to help you! You were going through a rough time, I know that, but this is no excuse to suddenly have a go at me! All you ever do is complain and latch onto me. If you don't want me acting like your mum, then don't expect me to!"

Jaime paled. To make the situation worse, Amy just yelled at her. It was when Rory died in Leadworth all over again. Then again, she deserved it. She stared down at the box under the pillow, but quickly looked to the floor in shame.

Amy huffed before storming out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Tired or not, Jaime had no excuse to act like that.

Amy made her way back to the console room where the Doctor and Rory were waiting. They both frowned when they noticed Amy steaming. "Amy, what's wrong?" the Doctor asked.

"Nothing," she snapped.

The Doctor stopped at that. He knew better than to speak when Amy was angry. Rory looked at the Doctor in confusion who only gave him a helpless look. He wouldn't dare interfere now.

"Where's Jaime?" Rory asked.

"She's not coming."


	17. The Curse of the Black Spot (#1)

Jaime was the first one out of the TARDIS, running out to whatever was ahead. Having always read stories about princesses, castles, and pirates, she felt like this was her lucky day. The Doctor had briefly mentioned a ship in distress that he couldn't resist.

They were below the deck where all the supplies were thrown about. She looked up to see a hatch leading to the upper deck. The other three travelers joined her, the Doctor shutting the TARDIS doors behind them all.

Faint voices could be heard above them close to the hatch. Jaime looked back at the Doctor in fear, shooting him a questioning look. "What now?" she whispered.

The Doctor smirked before pushing her behind him. "Like so."

Jaime awkwardly stood by Amy, staring at the Doctor to avoid looking at her. She winced when he suddenly knocked on the hatch loudly. The three companions realized he was trying to get them out when he suddenly hit the hatch with a great force, throwing it open.

Jaime blanched when she saw guns pointed at them. She should've expected this from pirates. The Doctor didn't look bothered at all.

"Yo ho ho!" he cheered. The small crew gave him a weird look, wondering who this strange man was. "Or does nobody actually say that?"

*** * * ***

"We made no signal," the Captain of the ship said. The few pirates that were on board had taken the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Jaime to the Captain's quarters for an interrogation. The Doctor had calmly tried to explain that they were here because of a distress signal.

"That is more magic, Captain Avery. They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below decks?" a member of the crew explained to Captain Avery.

"Well... I want to say multi-dimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won't go there. Look. I'm the Doctor, this is Amy, Rory, Jemma. We're sailors, same as you. Arr!"

Jaime gulped when a gun was pointed at the Doctor. "Except for the gun thing. And the beardiness."

"You're stowaways! Only explanation." Captain Avery realized. "Eight days we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed."

"What do we do with them?" a crewman asked.

"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality."

*** * * ***

The crew of pirates laughed manically as the Doctor stood on the plank, helplessly. "I suppose laughing like that is in the job description. Can you do the laugh? Check. Grab yourself a parrot. Welcome aboard," the Doctor mocked with a grim look on his face.

"Stocks are low. Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need four more empty bellies to fill," Captain Avery said, glancing at the Doctor's companions held captive by the crewmen.

"Take the doxies below to the galley. Set them to work. They won't need much feeding," he ordered. Rory and the Doctor watched as Jaime and Amy were lead away.

"Rory, a little help?" Amy spoke exasperated.

"Hey, listen, right. She's not a doxy. Neither is the little one," he spoke, trying to get them out of this mess.

Jaime's head snapped towards him. "Oi, little one?"

"I didn't mean just tell him off," Amy exhaled. "Thanks anyway."

Rory helplessly watched as Amy and Jaime were shoved below deck.

*** * * ***

Amelia Pond was desperately searching for a way back to the main deck. She'd have to act quickly if the Doctor and Rory were to live. She threw open a chest that just happened to be full of swords. Jaime stood behind her, watching closely.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving the Doctor," she replied, holding up a sword.

Jaime's eyes widened. "What? Amy, you can't do that! It's too dangerous!"

She couldn't help but notice the roll of Amy's eyes. "Oh, like you would know," she hissed.

That one hurt. Still, she couldn't let her do this. It'd only make things worse. "They're pirates. How do you expect to beat them?" Amy ignored her, looking up to see a spare pirate coat, hat, and sword.

Jaime felt very guilty about what happened with Amy. She didn't know what came over her to make her say those things. She wanted to apologize, but she knew Amy wouldn't have it. Her looks were enough to make Jaime keep her distance.

She watched as Amy put on the old clothes, looking like a pirate. She threw her an extra hat and coat. "Haven't you ever wanted to play pirate?"

*** * * ***

Meanwhile, the Doctor was trying to buy himself time. "Where are the rest of the crew? This is a big ship, big for five of you. I suppose the rest of them are hiding someplace and they're all going to jump out and shout boo."

"Boo!" Startled, the crew whipped around to see Amy in full pirate garb, sword included. Jaime stood behind her, also wearing an outfit. She looked more uncomfortable than Amy. "Throw the gun down."

Captain Avery obeyed, putting the gun at Amy's feet. The Doctor watched from the plank nervously as she kicked the gun away. "The rest of you, on your knees," she ordered.

"Amy, what are you doing?" the Doctor asked in a warning voice.

"Saving your life. Okay with that, are you?"

"Put down the sword. A sword could kill us all, girl," Captain Avery spoke.

"Yeah, thanks. That's actually why I'm pointing it at you."

Jaime jumped when the crew suddenly attacked. Swords clashed as Amy managed to fend them off. The Doctor looked incredibly uncomfortable as the fight broke out. He tried to stop it, but Captain Avery held him back. Jaime jumped back to avoid the fight as best as she could. Sure, she'd read books about sword fights, but she never expected to be in one!

Amy leaped forward, her sword pointed at the nearest pirate who cowered in fear. What sort of pirates were they? Jaime rolled her eyes as Amy cockily swung her blade. It was almost too easy.

Suddenly, the pirates raced forward and Jaime dodged them, hiding behind a barrel. She watched in surprise as Amy swung over the pirates on a rope, slashing one on his arm. She shakily landed on another barrel, looking proud of herself.

The crewmen looked at their fellow mate in fear at his cut hand. He looked at Amy with sorrowful eyes. "You have killed me."

She scoffed. "No way, it's just a cut. What kind of rubbish pirates are you?"

"One drop, that's all it takes. One drop of blood and she'll rise out of the ocean," Captain Avery spoke solemnly.

"Come on, I barely even scratched him. What are you all in such a huff about?"

One of the crewmen ran towards Amy who tried to swing back to her original spot. He grabbed Amy's legs, stopping her from going any farther. At that moment, Rory got free and ran to help. At the same time, Amy threw her sword back, slicing Rory's hand.

Rory cried out in pain as another crewmen grabbed him. They all looked down to see a black spot appear on the palm of his hand. "Er, Doctor, what's happening to me?"

"She can smell the blood on your skin, she's marked you for death," Captain Avery pointed out.

"She?"

"A demon, out there in the ocean." Jaime stepped forward, quiet enough that the crew didn't hear her. Her nickname The Mouse was coming in handy.

"Okay. Groovy," the Doctor said. "So not just pirates today. We've managed to bagsy a ship where there's a demon popping in. Very efficient. I mean, if something's going to kill you, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you."

Jaime rolled her eyes. Suddenly, a soft singing could be heard. It was a very beautiful, but haunting sound. A crewman started panicking. "Quickly now. Block out the sound."

"What?"

"The creature. She charms all her victims with that song."

"Oh, great, so put my fingers in my ears. That's your plan?" Rory whined. "Doctor, come on. Let's go. Let's get back to the..."

The music grew louder and Rory started to giggle. Giggle. Jaime would've laughed at his behavior, but everyone else looked so serious that she keep it to herself. The man that had been cut by Amy was also laughing. "The music. It's working on him. Look."

Rory caught sight of Amy who was beside him. "You are so beautiful," he drooled.

Amy blushed. "What?"

"Oh! No, I love your getup. That's great, you should dress as a pirate more often, huh? Hey, hey. Cuddle me, shipmate."

Amy pushed him away. "Rory, stop."

"Everything is totally brilliant, isn't it? Huh? Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant beards," he whispered the last part. "I'd like a beard. I'm going to grow a beard."

"You're not!" Amy protested.

"The music turns them into fools," Captain Avery explained.

"Oh, my God," Jaime gasped. Everyone turned to her then faced the way she was looking. There was a spot on the ocean that was a brighter blue than the rest. Suddenly, something rose from the spot, flying over to the ship. It was the siren.

The siren glowed a light blue, had dark hair, and a wore a long gown. She sang as she floated down to the deck. Amy had to physically restrain Rory to keep him from her. The other man wasn't so lucky. He pushed his way through the crowd, arm outstretched towards the creature.

She held her arm out as she sang, luring the man to her. As they touched, the man disappeared in a violent, dark cloud. His screams were heard over the singing. Rory still reached out for her, but Amy wasn't having it. "I have to touch her. Let me touch her!" he begged.

Amy pushed him away, facing the siren. "Sorry, but he is spoken for." The siren hissed, turning red. Amy flew backwards, landing on the hard deck. Once she was gone, the siren continued to sing, back to her blue form.

"Everybody into the hold!" the Doctor ordered.

The pirates scrambled to get below deck as the Doctor pulled Rory away. Jaime shivered as the floor was covered in a few inches of cold water. Amy shot Jaime a look.

"Fat lot of help you were up there," she sneered.

"At least I didn't get someone killed." Amy glared as she moved a lovestruck Rory away. Jaime was confused why she was suddenly so rude. What had gotten into her?

The hatch quickly blocked everyone's exit once they were all safe in the hold. "What is that thing?" Amy asked.

"The legend. The siren. Many a merchant ship laden with treasure has fallen prey to her. She's been hunting us ever since we were becalmed. Picking off the injured," Captain Avery said.

"Like a shark. A shark can smell blood," a crewman spoke.

"Okay. Just like a shark, in a dress and singing and green! A green singing shark in an evening gown."

"The ship is cursed!" Captain Avery protested.

"Yeah, right. 'Cursed' is big with humans. It means bad things are happening, but you can't be bothered to find an explanation."

"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Rory told Amy, starstruck.

"Actually, I think you'll find she isn't. We have to leave. Right now," she demanded.

"That crate of yours really is a ship?"

"Well, it's not propelled by the wind," the Doctor said to himself.

Captain Avery pointed his gun. "Show me. Weigh anchor. Make it sail!"

"And the gun's back," the Doctor sighed. "You're big on the gun thing, aren't you?" the Doctor said, exasperated.

"Leave the cursed one, Captain. The creature can have him."

"Yes, please," Rory added.

"We don't want the siren coming after us."

Suddenly, a pirate started shouting, bringing his leg out of the water. A leech was stuck to his leg. "It's a leech!"

"Everyone out of the water!" They all jumped out of the water as the man swatted the leech off. "It's bitten me. I'm bleeding!"

He looked at his hand in fear as the black spot marked him. The Doctor looked at him curiously. "She wants blood. Why does she want blood?"

Amy gave the man a look. "What were you saying about leaving the cursed ones behind?"

"It's okay, we're safe down here. No curse is getting through three solid inches of timber," the Doctor assured.

They all jumped in fear when the siren appeared behind the Doctor. The man that was just bitten by the leech stretched out his hand, reaching for her. The others couldn't stop him as he disappeared in a dark cloud.

The Doctor and Amy pushed Rory away as the rest of the crew ran into another room below deck. The siren didn't bother following.

"Safe?" Amy asked incredulously.

"I have my good days and my bad days," the Doctor said.

"How did she get in?" Captain Avery asked.

The Doctor quickly scanned a pirate hat with his sonic. "Bilge water. She's using water like a portal. A door. She can materialize through a single drop. We need to go somewhere with no water."

"Well, thank God we're not in the middle of the ocean," Amy said sarcastically.

"Did you see her eyes?" Rory marveled. "Like crystal pools."

"You are in enough trouble," Amy scolded.

"The magazine!" Captain Avery realized.

"What?"

"Where all the powder's stored," Jaime explained. Everyone gave her a strange look, not expecting her to know that. "What? I've grown up with pirate stories."

"Good, let's go there," the Doctor ordered, putting the hat on his head.

Captain Avery pointed his gun at him. "I give the orders."

"Ah. Worried because I'm wearing a hat now?" Amy seemed to be struggling with Rory, dragging him by one arm. Jaime grabbed his other arm, helping Amy pull him away.

At the door to the magazine, one of the remaining crewmen pulled out a set of keys. He fumbled with them before going pale. "The key is gone, Captain."

"How can it have gone?"

The Doctor stepped forward, gently pushing the door open. A lantern was lit, lighting up the small room. "Someone else had the same idea."

Jaime tugged Rory inside once everyone else had gone in. "Barricade the door," Captain Avery commanded. One of the crewmen took a lantern down. "Careful with that lantern. Every barrel is full of powder."

"Who's been sleeping in my gun room?" the Doctor asked.

Suddenly, a coughing sound rang out, heard by everyone. Captain Avery set down the lantern, opening a nearby barrel. His face went hard as he pulled someone out. "You fool! You fool, boy. What are you doing here?"

The boy looked to be only twelve years old. He had sandy blond hair and big eyes. His face was filled with fear at the sight of the Captain.

"Who is he?" a crewman asked.

"What, he's not one of the crew?" the Doctor asked.

"No. He's my son."

*** * * ***

Captain Avery, his son who was introduced as Toby, the Doctor, and the two crewmen stayed in the magazine while the Captain talked to his son. "What in God's name possessed you, boy? Your mother will be searching for you," he scolded.

Toby looked down at the floor in despair. Captain Avery's eyes widened at the news told by his son's silence. "When?"

"Last winter. Fever," the boy spoke. "She told me all about you. How you were a Captain in the Navy. 'An honorable man', she said. How I would be proud to know you."

Captain Avery and his two remaining crewmen looked down, ashamed. Toby coughed again. "I've come to join your crew."

"I don't want you here," the captain grumbled.

"You can't send me back. It's too late. We're 100 miles from home."

"It's dangerous here. There is a monster aboard. She leaves a mark on men's skin."

"The black spot?" the boy asked.

Everyone in the room gave him a look. The boy held out his hand to reveal a solid black spot on his palm just like the others. She was coming for him.

*** * * ***

"There's nothing wrong with the boy. He has no scars," the captain said. Everyone had gathered in the magazine once more.

"Yep, ignore my last theory," the Doctor admitted.

"He has his good days and his bad days," Amy agreed.

"It's not just blood. She's coming for all the sick and wounded, like a hunter chooses his weakest animal," the Doctor said.

"Okay, look. He's got fever. The siren knows it," Amy said as Rory stared down at his palm.

"Humans," the Doctor muttered, shaking his head. "Second rate. Damage too easily. It's only a matter of time before everyone gets bruised. My ship, it can sail us all away from here."

The Doctor patted the captain's shoulder. "You and me, we fetch it. Let's go."

Captain Avery pulled out his gun again. "You're not the Captain here, remember?"

The boy lifted the lid off a barrel full of water. Suddenly, a hand shot through and singing filled the air. The Doctor quickly forced the lid shut on the siren before she could get out. "The water's dangerous. That's how she gets through. One touch of her hand and you're a dead man!" the Captain told his son.

"We're all cursed if we stay aboard."

"It's not a curse," the Doctor reminded, "Curse means game over. Curse means we're helpless. We are not helpless! Captain, what's our next move?"

*** * * ***

Captain Avery put a medallion around Toby's neck. "Wait with the boy," he ordered his crew, Amy, Rory, and Jaime.

"Captain, we're all in danger here," one of the crewmen argued.

"I said wait and barricade the door after we've gone."

And with that, Captain Avery and the Doctor left the magazine to venture out for the TARDIS. Jaime prayed they'd come back in one piece, preferably with the TARDIS.

Toby sat down on the floor, coughing continuously. Jaime pitied the boy. He had already lost his mother and now he found out just the sort of man his father was. They were alike, honestly. Both of their mums dead and their fathers not honorable men.

Jaime sat down beside him, but not close enough to be considered creepy. Amy was standing in the middle of the room, not looking pleased. Rory knew that something was wrong. "What's wrong?" he asked, sounding forced.

"The most beautiful thing you've ever seen," Amy said sadly, with a clear smirk on her face.

Jaime's eyes rolled as Rory sighed. "Oh, tell me I didn't really say that."

Jaime looked up to see the last two crew members taking the barrels away from the door. They were taking down the barricade. "What's going on?"

"We're not staying here to mollycoddle the boy," one of them sneered. "The Captain's gone soft. It's time for us to leave."

Toby jumped to his feet. "He told you to wait, you dog. He's your Captain. A naval officer. You're honor bound to do as he tells you."

"Honor bound? Do you know what kind of ship this is? Do you know what your father does? We sail under the black flag. The Jolly Roger."

"Liar!" Toby yelled as Amy and Rory kept him back. "He's no wicked pirate!"

"Oh, you think so? I've seen your father gun down a thousand innocent men."

"That's enough," Jaime snapped after seeing the horrified look on Toby's face. It surprised Amy and Rory too, giving her shocked expressions. They'd never seen this side of Jaime. She surprised herself, too.

The man merely scoffed. "Get what treasure you can. I'll meet you in the rowboat," the man told his fellow mate.

Toby turned to them, now wielding a sword. "You're going to remain at your post," he ordered.

The man looked at the sword fearfully. "I am not playing games with you, boy. You put that down."

"One more step and I'll use this, you blackguard," Toby said, standing firm.

"You don't know how to fight with a cutlass, boy," the man shook in fear.

"Don't need to, do I?" He reached forward, gently swiping the mans hand.

He cried out at the small cut, blood starting to flow. He looked at his palm, seeing the newly marked skin. "You little swabber!"

"Congratulations, made it to the menu," Amy gloated. "Probably shouldn't go out there now."

"You scurvy ape!" the man cried, pulling out his gun.

"Don't shoot! The powder will blow and kill us all," Rory reasoned.

The other crewman took the set of keys from the injured man. "Mulligan, what are you doing?" he asked as the man ran out the door.

"No honor among pirates," Jaime hissed. The man quickly dropped his gun and barricaded the door again. After the action died down, everyone sat on the floor, waiting for the Doctor and the Captain to return.

Toby fiddled with his silver medallion, Jaime with a hand on his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind her. They didn't speak a word, but it was a pleasant silence. Toby started to rub the back of the medallion to make a clear reflection. Suddenly, a pounding came from outside. "Amy! Open the door!"

Rory and Amy quickly opened the door as the Doctor and the Captain ran in. The Doctor snatched Toby's medallion, fogging up the metal. After a few awkward seconds of breathing on the medallion, the Doctor raced out of the room.

Jaime briefly heard something about the siren coming up from any sort of reflection. Everyone had to do their part in destroying any glass or getting rid of treasure, much to the Captain's dismay.

Soon, everyone met up in the magazine once more. The Doctor gave the others an order that they weren't very happy about. "Just wait?" Rory repeated.

"Not my most dynamic plan, I realize."

"What about the TARDIS?" Jaime asked.

"It's been towed. Sorry, we might be stuck here for a while."

"Oh, so you're saying that we should all just wait here below?" Rory asked incredulously.

"The sea is still calm, like a mirror. If you go out on deck, she'll rise up and attack you," Captain Avery spoke.

"It's okay. The calm won't last forever. When the wind picks up, we'll all set sail," the Doctor reassured.

"Until it does, you have to hide down here."

*** * * ***

Jaime couldn't sleep. The wooden floor wasn't exactly comfortable. She couldn't believe Rory and Amy fell asleep so fast. Her eyes shut when Captain Avery walked over and sat beside a wide awake Toby."I'm sorry about your mother. You miss her a lot?"

"Three years. No word from you."

"Toby-"

"You promised her," he interrupted. "You promised you'd come home. And she believed you would, right up until the day she died." After a silence, Toby spoke up. "What made you do it? What made you turn pirate?"

"Get some sleep now," the Captain ordered, getting up and leaving.

Jaime sighed. She lifted her head to see Toby's hurt face. "Toby? Are you alright?" she asked.

He looked at her sadly before looking down. Jaime sat up and scooted over to sit beside him. He didn't look as she settled herself next to him. "Your father loves you, Toby."

"How could he? Why would he ever turn pirate? Why did he leave?"

Jaime sighed. "People make mistakes, believe me, I know. They can seem pretty stupid for the choices they made, but that doesn't mean they stopped loving their family."

Toby sighed. Jaime knew he didn't believe her. Why would he? His father wasn't the brightest person when it came to other peoples feelings. He's a pirate, for God's sake.

"You know, my mum died, too," Jaime said. "She was supposed to get money to take care of me. She died on the trip. She wanted me to live with my father on the other side of the country. I wouldn't do it. My father is a terrible man."

That caught Toby's attention. "Your father isn't an honorable man?"

Jaime chuckled. "He's far from honorable. He is the worst person I know. I don't want to live with him because I know he doesn't love me. He never wanted me around."

"Like my father," Toby said miserably.

"No, no, no. Your father is a good man, Toby. He may be a pirate, but he cares for you. He wouldn't have you hiding down here if he didn't love you. He's all you have, Toby. And he knows with your mother gone, you have nowhere else to go. He'll come through, you'll see."

He smiled gratefully. She wrapped an arm around him, rubbing his shoulder gently. Jaime hoped he'd end up being happy. She didn't want him to have no family to go to.

Suddenly, Amy jumped up from her sleeping position on the floor. She stared at the blank wall as if something was just there. "Amy, what's wrong?" Jaime asked, worried.

Amy looked at her in confusion, before shaking her head. "It's nothing," she said, quickly getting up and leaving the magazine. Rory continued to sleep as Toby leaned his head on Jaime's shoulder.

Suddenly, a loud clash of thunder rang out, waking Rory from his sleep. "Man the sails!" they all heard the Doctor shout.


	18. The Curse of the Black Spot (#2)

Captain Avery, Toby, the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Jaime were all on deck, soaked with rain. A thunderstorm had broken the silence of the sea. With the crew gone, the Doctor and his companions had to help sail the ship in the stormy weather.

Captain Avery was shouting out orders just like a real pirate. "To the rigging, you dogs! Let go the sails. Avast ye! Put the bunt into the slack of the clews."

"I swear he's making half this stuff up," Amy grumbled.

"Well, we're going to need some kind of phrase book," Rory shouted over the storm.

Jaime sighed in annoyance. "He means to tie down the line from the bottom of the sail to the corners."

Rory and Amy stared at her in disbelief. "How do you know that?" Amy asked.

"I take playing pirate seriously," Jaime countered, doing what Captain Avery ordered.

Jaime smirked at the look Amy gave her. The Doctor tried to steer the ship as best as he could while the others did whatever the Captain told them. "Toby! Find my coat. My compass is inside it, boy," Captain Avery ordered. "Heave ho, you bilge rats!"

"Rats was all I could hear," Rory said.

Toby came back to the deck with the captain's coat. Suddenly, a crown rolled out from the pocket and onto the deck. Everyone stared at it in fear. They were supposed to get rid of all of the treasure.

The siren shot out of the reflection, catching Toby's gaze. "Don't let her take you!" Captain Avery ordered. Toby didn't pay attention as he walked to the singing creature. "No!" the captain screamed. It was too late. Toby was gone.

Amy and Jaime pulled Rory back as the Doctor quickly threw the crown over board. "You couldn't give up the gold, could you?" the Doctor said to the Captain. "That's why you turned pirate! Your commission, your wife, your son! Just how much is that treasure worth to you, man?"

Suddenly, Rory was hit by a loose spar, getting hit over board. "Rory! Rory!" Amy cried, running to the side. "I can't see him. Doctor, I'm going in!"

The Doctor stopped her before she could throw off her pirate coat. "He's drowning! You go in after him, you'll drown too. There's only one thing that can save him now."

"What are you talking about?"

"The siren. The siren, she wants him. We have to release her." The Doctor ran over to a barrel full of water, lifting the lid off. The siren flew out, staring down at the uninjured people.

"He's drowning. Go find him!" the Doctor shouted. The siren dove into the water after Rory. They all knew that she got him. "If he stays in there, he'll die."

"But she'll destroy him," Amy protested.

"That thing isn't just a ravenous hunter. It's intelligent. We can reason with it. And maybe, just maybe, they're still alive somewhere. We have to follow."

"Are you mad?" Captain Avery said.

"If we ever want to see them again, we have to let the siren take us. We'll prick our fingers. All agreed?"

Amy, Jaime, and the Captain gave each other wary looks before agreeing. The Doctor quickly pricked everyone's fingers and the black spot appeared on their hands. Suddenly, the siren appeared in front of them with an outstretched arm, singing softly. The four of them stretched out, eagerly wanting to touch her. Then it all went black.

*** * * ***

Jaime came to, laying on the floor. The ground was hard and gray, the same as the walls. "Where are we?" she heard Amy ask as she got up.

"We haven't moved. We're in exactly the same place as before," the Doctor said.

In front of them was a large set of windows looking out on Captain Avery's ship's deck. "We're on a ghost ship," he said.

"No. It's real. A space shift trapped in a temporal rift."

"How can two ships be in the same place?" Jaime asked.

"Not the same," the Doctor explained. "Two planes, two worlds. Two cars parked in the same space. There are lots of different universes nested inside each other. Now and again they collide and you can step from one to the other."

"Okay. I think I understand," Amy said.

"Good, cause it's not like that at all, but if that helps."

Jaime giggled. "Thanks," Amy said sarcastically.

"All the reflections have suddenly become gateways." The Doctor picked up a metal scrap and threw it into the window. It landed on the deck outside. "Ever look in a mirror and think you're seeing a whole other world? Well, this time it's not an illusion."

Suddenly, an alarm started going off. We didn't do that, did we? Jaime thought. The Doctor walked over to a staircase, the others following. "The signal. The distress call. There was a second ship here all the time," Amy realized.

The siren could be heard from down a hallway. The Doctor opened a doorway to reveal a dried up alien. Captain Avery pointed his gun at it before the Doctor swatted it away. "Dead."

He pushed past it to find a control room. The windows looked into the Captain's quarters. Another dead alien lay in one of the seats. "There was something staring at us the whole time," Jaime said. "How long has the ship been here?"

"Long enough for the Captain to have run out of grog," Captain Avery said.

"I don't understand. If this is the Captain, then what's the siren?"

"Same as us. A stowaway."

"She killed it?" Amy asked.

The Doctor scanned the alien Captain. "Human bacteria. A virus. From our planet. Airborne, traveling through the portal. That's what killed it. Didn't get its jaaaaaaabs..." The Doctor looked down to see his hand covered in something nasty looking. "Ugh, look!"

"What is it?" Jaime asked in disgust.

"Sneeze! Alien bogies." The Doctor sighed in disgust, wiping his hand on Amy's coat. He led the other three into a new room. Dozens of sleeping people lay on floating beds, all with tubes attached to their necks.

"McGrath. He's one of my men," Captain Avery pointed to a man on a bed. "My entire crew is here." Suddenly, he caught sight of his son. "Toby!"

"Rory!" Amy cried.

"The TARDIS!" the Doctor shouted, running to his beloved machine.

"We have to get him out of here," Captain Avery said.

"Wait!" the Doctor stopped him, scanning a sleeping Toby. "His fever's gone." He quickly went over to scan Rory.

"He looks so well," Amy marveled.

"She's keeping him alive. His brain is still active, but all its cellular activity is suspended. It's not a curse, it's a tissue sample. Why get samples of people you are about to kill?"

"Help me get him up?" Amy asked.

Suddenly, a sensor started beeping and the siren started to sing. "She's coming," Jaime whispered as Rory started to wake. The Doctor pulled her behind a large panel, so they could all watch the siren. She floated down to a struggling Rory, calmly putting him back to sleep.

"Anesthetic," the Doctor muttered.

"What?" Avery asked.

"Her music. The song. She anesthetizes people and then puts their body in stasis."

The siren went to Toby and started to sing. Captain Avery jumped out, firing his gun at her. The siren turned red, screeching as she approached the Captain. Suddenly, the Doctor sneezed loudly. The siren turned to him, wielding a streak of fire between her hands.

"Fire. That's new. Uh... what does fire do? Burn? Yes, destroy. What else? Sterilize!" he rambled, pulling out a handkerchief. "I sneezed, I brought germs in."

He blew his nose before quickly throwing it on the ground. The siren threw the fire at it, successfully destroying the rag. At that moment, Amy ran to Rory.

"Amy, stop. Don't interfere. Don't touch him. Anesthetic, tissue sample, screen, sterile working conditions. Ignore all my previous theories!"

"Yeah? Well, we stopped paying attention a while back," Amy said as the siren approached her.

"She's not a killer at all, she's a doctor!" Amy backed away from Rory and the siren turned blue again. "This is an automated sick bay. It's teleporting everyone on board. The crew are dead and so the sick bay has had nothing to do. It's been looking after humanity whilst it's been idle. Look at her. A virtual doctor!" he marveled. "Able to sterilize a whole room."

"Able to burn your face off," Amy grumbled.

"She's just an interface. Seeped through the join between the planes. Broadcast in our world. Protean circuitry means she can change her form. And become a human doctor for humans. Oh, sister, you are good!"

Amy went back to Rory, but the siren jumped forward to stop her. "She won't let us take them," Captain Avery said.

"She's keeping them alive, but she doesn't know how to heal them."

"I'm his wife, for God's sake! Why can't I touch him?"

"Tell her, Amy," the Doctor said, grabbing her hand. "Show her your ring. She may be virtual, but she's intelligent. You can't do anything without her consent. Come on! Sophisticated girl like you, that must be somewhere in your core program."

The siren only stared at them in confusion. "Look. He's very ill, okay? I just want to look after him. Why won't you let me near my husband?" Amy told her.

The siren cocked her head before holding out her hand. A large golden ring was around her palm. "Consent form," the Doctor whispered. "Sign it. Put your hand in the light. Rory's sick, you have to take full responsibility."

Amy hesitantly put her hand in the ring. The siren disappeared, not to be seen again. Once she left, the Doctor quickly sonicked the tube around Rory's neck. Amy worked at the controls along his bed.

Suddenly, Rory shot up, struggling for air he couldn't get. "He can't breathe, turn it back on," the Doctor said.

Amy flipped a switch and Rory relaxed. "What do we do? I can't just leave him here."

"He'll die if you take him out," Captain Avery said.

Amy ignored him, gently coaxing Rory awake. "Rory? Rory, wake up," she whispered.

Rory's eyes opened, looking very confused. "Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital. If you leave, you might die," the Doctor grimly explained. "But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever."

"You're saying that if I don't get up now..."

"You can never leave," Amy said sadly.

"The siren will keep you safe," the Doctor said.

"And if I come with you?"

"Drowning, on the point of death."

"...I'm a nurse."

"What?" Amy asked.

"I can teach you how to save me," he told her.

"Whoa, hold on-" "I was drowning, you just have to resuscitate me. You've seen them do it loads of times in films. CPR. The kiss of life."

"Rory, this isn't a film, okay? What if I... do it wrong?"

"You won't," he reassured.

"Okay. What if you don't come back to life? What if..."

"I trust you."

Amy looked at the others nervously. "What about him, hmm? I mean, why do I have to be the one? Why do I have to save you?"

"Because I know you'll never give up."

Amy nodded as the Doctor went over to Captain Avery and Toby. "We have to send this ship back into space. I mean, imagine if the siren got ashore. She would have to process every injured human."

"What about Toby?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry. Typhoid fever. Once he returns, it's only a matter of time."

"What if I stay with him here? The siren will look after him. I can't go back to England. And what home does he have now if not with me?"

Jaime smiled at that. She knew Toby was going to be happy with his father, just like she told him. "Do you think you can sail this thing?" the Doctor asked as Jaime walked over.

"Just point me to the atom accelerator." The Doctor chuckled before walking back over to Rory. Jaime leaned down, softly kissing Toby's forehead. She looked up at Captain Avery.

"He loves you, sir. You haven't been a part of his life in so long. You better make it up to him," she smiled sweetly.

Captain Avery nodded. "Will do, lass."

Jaime silently walked back over to Rory's bed. He was giving Amy a pep talk. "I know you can do this. Of course, if you muck it up, I am going to be really cross. And dead."

Amy laughed lightly. "I'll see you in a minute." The Doctor nodded at her. They quickly removed Rory from his bed as he gasped for air. The two of them picked him up as Jaime rushed to open the TARDIS doors. Amy laid an unconscious Rory on the floor, quickly starting CPR. After a few seconds, he still wasn't moving.

"Come on. Come on, Rory, not here. Not this way. Not today!" Amy pressed Rory's chest in determination before bringing her mouth to his again. "He trusted me, he trusted me to save him," she cried.

"You still can. You can still do this. He believes in you. Come on, Amy!" Jaime watched off to the side as Amy vigorously worked to get Rory breathing.

Nothing was working. He still didn't move. "Please, please, please wake up. Please wake up," Amy cried.

The Doctor looked down with a sad face as Amy sobbed, finally stopping her motions. She sat back and stared at Rory's body as if just realizing he wasn't coming back. Jaime wanted to comfort her, but she knew that this was Amy's moment. She didn't need her comfort.

Suddenly, Rory started violently coughing. The Doctor looked dizzy as he stood up. Jaime sighed in relief, happy for all of this to be over. "Amy," Rory whispered. "Amy, you did it. You did it!"

He sat up and hugged her tightly as Amy sobbed. The Doctor smiled proudly. All of his companions were alive and well, back in the TARDIS where they belonged.

*** * * ***

"I thought I was an excellent pirate," Amy boasted, walking up the stairs to their bedroom.

"I thought you were an excellent nurse," Rory claimed.

"Easy, tiger." Amy stopped and turned at the top of the stairs. The Doctor was busy at the console, and Jaime was fast asleep on the jump seat. "Goodnight, Doctor."

"Goodnight, Amelia."

Amy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me."

"I always worry about you," he mumbled.

"Mutual," she muttered.

The Doctor caught her gaze. "Go to bed, Pond," he scolded.

Amy gave him a weird look before turning to the hallway. The Doctor looked back at his scanner. It was a body scan for Amy to determine if she was pregnant or not. The scanner couldn't decide, switching between negative and positive.

"Oh, Amelia," he sighed.

He broke eye contact with the scanner when he noticed Jaime fast asleep in the chair. He smiled lightly before leaving the console. He gently slid an arm under her legs and around her shoulder. Lifting her up, he carried her to her room, knowing she wouldn't be pleased if she was left on the chair.

The Doctor carried Jaime down the long hallway to her bedroom. He gently laid her on top of her covers and she adjusted to the new surface, still in a deep sleep. The Doctor leaned forward, pecking her forehead lightly.

"Goodnight, Jaime."

*** * * ***

Jaime Woods slowly woke up the following morning, feeling well rested after their tedious adventure. She was a bit confused about why she was in bed, distinctly remembering falling asleep in the console room.

Her clothes from the day before were wrinkled and her hair was frizzy, but she didn't care. As she was about to leave, a soft knock came from outside. Jaime stared at the door eagerly.

"Come in," she called, just loud enough to be heard.

The door opened slowly, the Doctor pushing it open. He had a gentle smile on his face. "Sleep well, Jemma?"

"I did, yes," she replied with a yawn.

He nodded softly, staring down at the floor. Jaime blushed as an awkward silence ensued. The Doctor looked uncomfortable, like he forced himself to come here. Jaime cleared her throat.

"Do... do you need something, Doctor?"

"I want to ask what happened between the two of you."

"The two of us..."

"Yourself and Amy," he answered simply.

Jaime blanched. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen the way you look at each other," he said, taking a step forward. "The way she talks to you as if you're an enemy."

She looked down. "I-It's all stupid, really."

"What is it, Jaime?" he asked gently.

She turned away, rubbing her hands over her face. "I... I don't know what happened. It all passed by in a blur."

The Doctor sat on the side of her bed, listening and looking over at her intently. Jaime stood up and started to pace around the room.

"I-I guess I was just... tired or something, but I wasn't myself, I know that. She said something about you lot going on a trip and if I wanted to go. I don't know why, but it made me so... angry. I started going off on her and she just put up with it."

Frustrated, Jaime plopped down beside him. "I mentioned something about how I hated her babying me, and she just lost it. She told me to appreciate what she's done for me and how she cared for me when no one else did."

The Doctor gave her a sad look as she refused to look at him, pouring out all of her hidden emotions. She stared down at her hands in her lap, tears threatening to spill.

"It reminded me of when Rory died, you know? In the dream, how she said it was my fault. But she's right. She's always acted like a mother to me since I got here. And I just ruined it," she sniffed.

The Doctor placed a large hand over her two shaking ones. "Jaime, we all know how... rough Amy can be sometimes. No one has ever had a perfect relationship with her. I don't think anyone can have a perfect relationship with her... don't let Rory hear that. This is just a bump in the road. It'll seem silly once it's all over."

He placed his chin on top of Jaime's head, providing comfort as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. A glinting object on her desk caught his attention. He didn't know why it distracted him, but at the same time, he knew exactly why.

It was a small box, as if for large jewelry, with a bow on top and covered in wrapping paper. "What's that on your desk?" he asked, not moving his position.

Jaime lifted her head, turning to face her desk. She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What, the box?"

"I haven't seen it before. What is it?" he asked, staring at it deeply.

"It's a gift my mum gave me before she died," she said sadly.

"Why is the paper still on?"

"Doesn't matter anymore," she brushed off.

"Open it."

Jaime's head shot up towards him. "Why? Is it important?"

"I don't know," he muttered, still staring at it.

"If you don't know, then why should I open it?" she exhaled heavily.

"Why won't you open it?" he asked curiously, looking down at her.

She huffed, taking her hands out of his. "Because it's the last gift my mum ever gave to me! It's not exactly easy."

The Doctor nodded. He understood why it would be painful; too many memories attached to it. He stood up, feeling sorry for the teenage girl. The Doctor didn't say a word as he quietly left her room, leaving her in painful silence. Jaime couldn't help, but stare at the box.

It's not time, a voice spoke in her mind. Jaime's eyes widened, not knowing where it came from, but she couldn't bring herself to disobey.

She slowly picked up the small box, wondering what could be inside. Instead of opening it, she shoved it into her pocket. She hadn't had it on her person since she first received it. She knew she wanted to open it, but she'd have to wait until she was strong enough.


	19. The Doctor's Wife (#1)

"And then we discovered it wasn't the robot king after all, it was the real one," the Doctor explained in one of his many stories. "Fortunately, I was able to reattach the head."

Jaime and Rory sat in opposite jump seats, listening to the Doctor's ridiculous story. Rory looked at Amy in disbelief as she walked in. "Do you believe any of this stuff?"

"I was there," she grumbled.

"Oh, it's the warning lights," the Doctor complained as lights flashed. "I'm getting rid of those. They never stop!"

Rory followed after a grumpy Amy, trying to figure out what was wrong. Jaime crossed her arms and sighed. She was tired of bickering with Amy, but she wouldn't dare talk to her. She'd have scars afterwards. Jaime mindlessly traced her pocket that carried her box. She'd started carrying it around ever since her talk with the Doctor. She didn't know why, but it gave her peace.

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. Amy and Rory ran back up to the console. "What was that?" Amy asked.

"The door, genius," Jaime retorted. Amy shot her a short glare.

"Right, we are in deep space," Rory quickly pointed out.

The Doctor slowly walked to the doors, curious as to what was outside. "Very, very deep. And somebody's knocking."

He slowly opened the doors to reveal a small, glowing box floating outside. "Oh, come here," he welcomed. "Come here, you scrumptious little beauty."

He reached out to the small box, but it quickly whizzed past him and into the TARDIS. It flew around the console before hitting the Doctor square in the chest. "A box?" Rory asked.

"Doctor, what is it?" Amy added.

The Doctor held the box up, gazing at it fondly. "I've got mail. Time Lord emergency messaging system. In an emergency, we wrap up our thoughts in psychic containers and send them through time and space."

He circled the console, facing his companions with a look of excitement plastered on his face. "Anyway, there's a living Time Lord still out there and it's one of the good ones!" he shouted in glee.

"You said there weren't any other Time Lords left," Rory said.

"There are no Time Lords left anywhere in the universe, but the universe isn't where we're going," he said, tossing the box to Jaime. There was an image of a snake printed on it.

"See that snake? The mark of the Corsair. Fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn't feel like himself unless he had the tattoo. Or herself, a couple of times. Ooh, she was a bad girl!"

Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the console, sending out sparks and puffs of smoke. "What is happening?!" Rory shouted.

"We are leaving the universe!"

"How can you leave the universe?" Amy shouted.

"With enormous difficulty! Right now I'm burning up TARDIS rooms to give us some welly. Goodbye, swimming pool. Goodbye, scullery. Sayonara, squash court seven!"

More sparks flew as the TARDIS dangerously navigated her way out of the universe. She landed with a bang. "Okay. Okay. Where are we?" Amy breathed nervously.

"Outside the universe, where we've never, ever been." Jaime looked down to see her box sitting on the floor. It must've fallen out when they landed. She scrambled to shove it back in her pocket.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rory caught Jaime shoving something in her pocket. Why did it look like she was hiding something? He decided not to say anything. The TARDIS powered down with a sad noise, exhausted from using so much energy.

"Is that meant to happen?" Rory asked.

"The power. It's draining," the Doctor panicked. "Everything's draining! But it can't. That's... that's impossible."

Lights disappeared even more as if a source in the TARDIS physically left. "What's that?" Jaime asked nervously.

"It's as if the Matrix, the soul of the TARDIS, has just vanished." The Doctor looked around. "Where would it go?"

The Doctor quickly went to the door, his companions following him closely. He hesitantly opened the door, blocking their vision. He stepped onto the ground, letting the others come out. Jaime grimaced at the sight.

The planet was covered in trash. If that didn't feel welcoming, the sky was dark with hints of green and blue. "So what kind of trouble is your friend in?" Amy asked.

"He was in a bind, a bit of a pickle, sort of distressed."

"Well, you can just say you don't know," Amy said, observing the garbage.

"What is this place? The scrapyard at the end of the universe?" Rory asked.

"Not end of, outside of," the Doctor corrected.

"How can we be outside the universe? The universe is everything," Rory debated.

"Imagine a great big soap bubble with one of those tiny little bubbles on the outside."

"Okay." "But it's nothing like that," the Doctor admitted. "Completely drained, look at her," he fussed over the TARDIS.

"Wait. So we're in a tiny bubble universe, sticking to the side of the bigger bubble universe?" Amy asked, trying to wrap her head around it.

"Yes. No. But if it helps, yes. This place is full of rift energy. She'll probably refuel just by being here. Now, this place, what de we think, eh?" he asked, throwing a stick in the air. "Gravity's almost Earth-normal, air's breathable, but it smells like..."

"Armpits," Amy said.

"Armpits," the Doctor agreed.

"Where did all of this stuff come from?" Jaime asked as the other two companions examined the junk.

"Well, there's a rift, now and then stuff gets sucked through it. Not a bubble. A plughole. The universe has a plughole and we've just fallen down it," the Doctor explained.

"Thief! Thief! You're my thief!" The four of them jumped as a woman ran into view. She wore a gray and blue, ragged corset dress and had crazy dark hair. Two strange looking people chased after her as she ran towards the Doctor.

"She's dangerous! Guard yourself," the other woman cried. The woman with the crazy hair pointed at the Doctor, running towards him.

"Look at you! Goodbye! No, not goodbye. What's the other one?" the woman said, smashing her lips against the Doctor's. She talked faster than the speed of light.

"Watch out! Careful, keep back from her," the man warned, pulling the woman away from the Doctor.

The other woman tried to restrain the crazy one as the Doctor quickly wiped his mouth. The man only chuckled nervously. "Welcome, strangers, lovely. Sorry about the mad person."

"Why am I a thief? What have I stolen?" the Doctor asked the lady.

"Me. Are you going to steal me? No, you have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh! Tenses are difficult, aren't they?" the woman said.

Jaime blinked fast, trying to keep up with everything. It was all turning into a blur. "Oh! Well, we are sorry, my dove," the other woman apologized. "She's off her head."

The crazy woman played with a strand of Amy's hair before curiously looking at all of the things strew about. "They call me Auntie," the other woman introduced.

"And I'm Uncle. I'm everybody's uncle," the man introduced, shaking the Doctor's hand.

As the crazy woman looked around excitedly, she stopped when her eyes fell on Jaime. The poor girl froze when she noticed her. The woman approached her slowly, reaching out to touch her face.

The woman didn't look like she would harm Jaime, she was only examining her. She looked absolutely amazed to be seeing Jaime. She walked away, still looking back at the young girl.

"Just keep back from this one, she bites!" Uncle told the Doctor.

"Do I? Excellent." They all jumped as the crazy woman sunk her teeth into the Doctor's neck. Everyone ran forward to pry the woman away from him as he cried out in pain. "Oh, biting's excellent! It's like kissing, only there's a winner!"

"Sorry. She's doolally," Uncle said awkwardly.

"No, I'm not doolally. I'mmm... I'mmm... It's on the tip of my tongue. I've just had a new idea about kissing. Come here, you!" The Doctor ran behind his companions for cover as the woman laughed manically. "No, Idris, no!" Auntie cried.

"Oh, but now you're angry. No, you're not. You will be angry. The little boxes will make you angry," the crazy woman, known as Idris predicted calmly.

"Sorry? The little what? Boxes?" the Doctor asked.

Idris laughed. "Your chin is hilarious." She turned to Rory. "It means the smell of dust after rain."

"What does?" he asked.

"Petrichor."

"But I didn't ask."

"Not yet. But you will," she said, dramatically looking away.

"No, no, Idris. I think you should have a rest," Auntie pleaded.

"Rest, yes, yes, good idea! I'll just see if there's an off switch," Idris said, collapsing immediately.

"Is that it? Is she dead now? So sad," Uncle said in clear relief.

"She's still breathing," Rory pointed out.

Uncle's face turned to a look of disappointment. "Nephew, take Idris somewhere she cannot bite people, hmm?"

The Doctor turned to see Uncle was talking to an Ood. "Oh, hello!" he said in delight.

Amy, Rory, and Jaime jumped back in fright. The Ood had green eyes, was dressed in a cleaners suit, and had tentacles where its mouth should be. "Doctor, what is that?" Amy asked.

"Oh, no. It's alright. It's an Ood. Oods are good, love an Ood. Hello, Ood. Can't you talk? Oh, I see, it's damaged," the Doctor said, seeing a small ball on the Oods suit.

"May I?" he asked. The Ood nodded, giving the Doctor permission to fix his translator ball. "It might be on the wrong frequency."

"Nephew was broken when he came here. Why, he was half dead. House repaired him. House repaired all of us," Auntie said.

The Doctor put the translator ball back together, making it glow an eery green, same as Nephew's eyes. A recorded voice rang out.

"If you are receiving this message, please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Tell them I am still alive! I don't know where I am. I'm on some rock like planet."

Other voices were dubbed over the original recording. Nephew switched the translator ball off, stopping the green glow and voice recordings.

"What was that? That wasn't the Ood, was it?" Jaime asked.

"No. No, it's picking up something else," the Doctor said, shock written all over his face. "But that's... that's not possible. That's... who else is here? Tell me. Show me! Show me!" he demanded to Auntie and Uncle.

"Just what you see," Auntie confirmed. "It's just the four of us. And the House. Nephew, will you take Idris somewhere safe where she can't hurt nobody?"

Nephew obeyed, taking Idris into a large building. "The House? What's the House?" the Doctor asked.

"House is all around you, my sweets. You are standing on him. This is the House. This world. Would you like to meet him?"

"Meet him?" Rory asked.

"I'd love to," the Doctor said, signaling Rory to be quiet.

Auntie smiled diabolically. "This way. Come, please. Come," Uncle said, leading the four of them inside. The Doctor hesitated.

"What's wrong? What were those voices?" Amy asked.

"Were they Time Lords?" Jaime asked.

"Yes," the Doctor said sadly, turning to face his companions. "It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere close by there are lots and lots of... Time Lords."

The Doctor quickly followed after Auntie and Uncle inside the large, run down building. Run down was putting it nicely. Even more things were tossed about as if it wasn't bad enough outside.

Uncle and Auntie led the four travelers into a room. "Now you can see House and he can look at you and he..." Uncle trailed off. They stood in front of a large vent, glowing the same eery green as Nephew's eyes.

"I see," the Doctor said, looking down into the vent. "This asteroid is sentient."

"We walk on his back, breathe his air, eat his food," Auntie listed.

"Smell its armpits," Amy added under her breath.

"And do my will."

Jaime looked up to see Nephew, Uncle, and Auntie all at a stand still. A deep voice was talking through them.

"You are most welcome, travelers."

"Doctor, that voice, that's the asteroid talking?" Amy said.

"Yes. So you're like a sea urchin?" the Doctor asked the House. "Hard outer surface. That's the planet we're walking on. Big, squashy, oogly thing inside. That's you."

"That is correct, Time Lord."

"Ah! So you've met Time Lords before?"

"Many travelers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break."

"So there are Time Lords here, then?" the Doctor asked in hope.

"Not anymore. But there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by."

"Well, there won't be anymore after us. Last Time Lord. Last TARDIS," the Doctor replied. Jaime frowned. She always knew he was the last of his kind, but that didn't make it any less sad.

"A pity. Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest, feed if you will."

Auntie, Uncle, and Nephew straightened up, once again in control of their bodies. "We're not actually going to stay here, are we?" Rory asked in disgust.

"Well, it seems like a friendly planet. Literally. Mind if we poke around a bit?" the Doctor asked Auntie and Uncle.

"You can look all you want. Go, look. House loves you," Auntie said too enthusiastically.

The Doctor turned to his companions. "Come on then, gang. We're just going to, er... see the sights."

Quickly, the Doctor left, his companions following him. They all wanted to leave this creepy place as soon as they could. Jaime felt more disturbed as they ventured around House.

Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Thief!" It sounded like Idris. The Doctor shushed his companions, stopping them in their tracks. No voice cried out again.

"So as soon as the TARDIS is refueled, we go yeah?" Rory asked.

"No," the Doctor replied quickly, "There are Time Lords here. I heard them and they need me."

"You told me about your people and you told me what you did," Amy reminded.

"Yes, yes. But if they're like the Corsair, they're good ones and I can save them."

"And then tell them you destroyed all the others?"

"I can explain, tell them why I had to," the Doctor replied, trying to walk away.

"You want to be forgiven," Amy realized.

"And why wouldn't he?" Jaime asked Amy rhetorically.

Ignoring her, Amy changed her question. "What do you need from me?"

The Doctor patted his blazer, feeling around for something. "My screwdriver. I left it in the TARDIS. It's in my jacket."

"You're wearing your jacket," Rory sighed.

"My other jacket."

"You have two of those?"

"Okay," Amy said in exasperation. "I'll get it. But Doctor, listen to me. Don't get emotional because that's when you make mistakes."

"Yes, boss," he mock saluted.

"I'll call you from the TARDIS. Rory, look after him," Amy said, walking away and ignoring Jaime.

"Rory, look after her. And the little one," the Doctor said, gesturing to Jaime.

"Oi, I'm not little!" Jaime protested. "Why can't I stay with you?"

"Cause I said so."

Jaime scoffed. "Oh, what are you, my mum now?"

The Doctor shot her a look. "I thought you wanted to make up with Amy." Jaime blushed, looking at the ground in shame. She turned away, disappearing after Amy and Rory.

*** * * ***

Once inside the TARDIS, Amy called the Doctor from the powered down TARDIS. "Hey, we're here. Screwdriver's in your jacket, yeah?" she confirmed.

"Yeah, it's around somewhere. Have a good look."

As Amy hung up, she heard what sounded like the doors locking. "Did you do that?" she asked Rory.

"I didn't do anything," he assured, backing away from the console. "Right. Jacket."

*** * * ***

The Doctor put his screwdriver back in his pocket, successfully locking his companions in the TARDIS. He knew it'd be better to do this alone. He searched around, eagerly looking for the other Time Lords.

"Come on. Where are you?" he asked to himself. "Now, where are you all?"

Suddenly, he heard very quiet voices. It sounded like a bunch of people talking at once. The voices led him to a secluded area. "Well, they can't all be in here."

The voices returned, louder than before. He turned to see a cabinet built into the wall, small doors sealing it. He opened the doors, shocked by what was before him. The same little boxes were piled inside, all of them with the voices of Time Lords calling for help.

The Doctor felt Auntie and Uncle come up behind him. "Just admiring your Time Lord distress signal collection," he said scarily calm. "Nice job. Brilliant job. Really thought I had some friends here. But this is what the Ood translator picked up, cries for help from the long dead."

The Doctor turned to face the appalling people. "How many Time Lords have you lured here the way you lured me? And what happened to them all?"

"House, House is kind and he is wise," Auntie preached.

"House repairs you when you break, yes, I know! But how does he mend you?" he asked, quickly scanning them. "You've got the eyes of a 20 year old," the Doctor told Uncle.

"Thank you."

"No, no, I mean it, literally. Your eyes are 30 years younger than the rest of you. Your ears don't match, your right arm is two inches longer than your left. And how's your dancing, cause you've got two left feet. Patchwork people," he spat.

"You've been repaired and patched up so often, I doubt there's anything left of what used to be you. I had an umbrella like you once," the Doctor said to Auntie, grabbing her arm.

"Oh, now, it's been a great arm for me, this," she said, holding up an arm. The arm had a snake tattoo, identical to the one the Corsair would've had. "He was a strapping big bloke, wasn't he, Uncle? I got the arm and then Uncle got the spine and the kidneys."

"You gave me hope and then you took it away. That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it will do to me. Basically, run!" he shouted.

Auntie took the chance, sprinting away. "Poor old Time Lord. Too late. House is too clever," Uncle taunted before slipping away. The Doctor's phone rang, causing him to pick it up in anguish. Amy Pond spoke, not sounding too happy.

"No sonic screwdriver. Also, the doors seemed to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there is a perfectly innocent explanation, but I think you lied to us."

"Time Lord stuff. Needed you out of the way."

"What, we're not good enough for your smart new friends? Is that why you kept Jaime with you?"

"Jaime? Jaime, no, I sent her after you. Rory made sure of it."

"Well, she's not with us now. Did you lose her?" Amy growled, sounding concerned.

The Doctor paused. "You're worried."

"Of course I'm worried! Why wouldn't I be?" she shouted.

He beamed, knowing Amy wasn't really mad at Jaime. The mother in her was taking control. "Boxes will make you angry. How could she know?" he suddenly realized.

"Doctor, what are you talking about? You're supposed to be finding Jaime!"

"Stay put. Stay exactly where you are," he ordered.

"We don't have much choice," Amy grumbled. The Doctor didn't hear her. He was too busy searching for Idris. He soon came across her, sitting in a chamber like cage.

"How did you know about the boxes? You said they'd make me angry. How did you know?"

"Ah, it's my thief," she said calmly.

"Who are you?"

"It's about time," she said, gazing up at the Doctor fondly.

"I don't understand, who are you?" he questioned further.

"Do you really not know me? Just because they put me in here?"

"They said you were dangerous."

"Not the cage, stupid. In here," she replied, touching the side of her face. "They put me in here. I'm the... Oh, what do you call me? We travel. I go..."

Suddenly, she opened her mouth, sounding exactly like the TARDIS engines. "The TARDIS?" the Doctor asked, thoroughly confused.

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Yes, that's it. Names are funny. It's me!" she said happily, getting to her feet. "I'm the TARDIS."

"No, you're not. You're a bitey, mad lady. The TARDIS is up and downy stuff in a big blue box," he said, still not believing her.

"Yes, that's me. A type 40 TARDIS. I was already a museum piece when you were young. And the first time you touched my console, you said-"

"I said you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen," he cut off.

"And then you stole me. And I stole you."

"I borrowed you," the Doctor corrected.

"Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?"

That was the moment he knew she was telling the truth. "You're the TARDIS?"

"Yes."

"My TARDIS?"

"My Doctor. Oh! We have now reached the point in the conversation where you open the lock." The Doctor quickly sonicked the cage, opening the door. Idris stepped out, closely examining the Doctor's face. "Are all people like this?" she asked.

"Like what?"

"So much bigger on the inside. I'm... oh, what is that word? It's so big, so complicated. And so sad."

"But why?" the Doctor asked. "Why pull the living soul from a TARDIS and pop it in a tiny human head? What does it want you for?"

"Well, it doesn't want me."

"How do you know?"

"House eats TARDISes."

"House what? What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Something I heard you say."

"When?"

"In the future?"

"House eats TARDISes?"

"There you go. What are fish fingers?"

"When do I say that?" the Doctor wondered.

"Any second."

"Of course! House feeds on rift energy and TARDISes are bursting with it. And not raw, lovely and cooked, processed food. Mmm. Fish fingers."

"Do fish have fingers?"

The Doctor rubbed his head. "But you can't eat a TARDIS, it would destroy you. Unless, unless..."

"Unless you deleted the TARDIS Matrix first," Idris replied.

The Doctor laughed. "So it deleted you," he mocked.

"But House can't just delete a TARDIS consciousness, that would blow a hole in the universe. So it pulls out the Matrix, sticks it into a living receptacle, and it feeds off the remaining Artron energy," she rambled. Idris gasped. "You were about to say all that. I don't suppose you have to now."

The Doctor started to panic. "I sent Amy and Rory in there. They'll be eaten. Amy!" He quickly pulled out his phone and called Amy as he ran to the TARDIS. "Amy! Rory, get the hell out of there!"

"Doctor, something's wrong," Amy said.

"Yeah. It's House. He's after the TARDIS. Just get out, both of you!"

"We can't, you locked the door, remember?"

"But I've unlocked it."

"You stupid well haven't!"

The Doctor ran outside to see the TARDIS covered in a strange green mist. He tried snapping his fingers, but the door wouldn't budge. "Open this door! Amy. Rory!"

He pounded on the door as green mist disappeared. Suddenly, the TARDIS dematerialized, going off to who knows where. The Doctor tried phoning, but nobody would pick up. "Okay. Right. I don't... I really don't know what to do. That's a new feeling."

*** * * ***

"It's gone," the Doctor reported to Idris.

"Eaten?"

"No, it left. Not eaten, hijacked. But why?"

Auntie and Uncle entered the room. "It's time for us both to go, Unkie, together," Auntie said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Go? What do you mean, go? Where are you going?"

"Well, we're dying, my love. It's time for Auntie and Uncle to pop off," Auntie said.

"I'm against it, but..." Uncle trailed off.

"It's your fault, isn't it, sweets? Cause you told House it was the last TARDIS. House can't feed on them if there's none more coming, can he?" Auntie said.

"So now he's off to your universe to find more TARDISes," Uncle said.

"It won't," the Doctor assured.

"Oh, it will think of something," Auntie said.

Suddenly, she collapsed on her side. The Doctor quickly checked her pulse, but found nothing. "Actually, I feel fine," Uncle said before falling down dead.

"Not dead, you can't just die!" the Doctor protested.

"We need to go to where I landed, Doctor. Quickly," Idris ordered.

"Why?"

"Because we are there in three minutes. We need to go... now!"

She started sprinting, before she hunched over in pain. "Ow! Roughly how long do these bodies last?"

The Doctor quickly scanned her with the sonic. "You're dying."

"Yes, of course I'm dying. I don't belong in a flesh body. I could blow the casing in no time." She looked at the Doctor who now wore a sad face. "No, stop it. Don't get emotional. Hmm. That's what the orangey girl says. Oh!" She seemed to remember, turning away from him.

"You can come out, love," she called out. The Doctor looked at her strangely before hearing a rustling noise behind him. He turned to see a figure come out of the shadows with a sheepish look on their face. The Doctor's blood boiled when he saw who it was.

"Jemma Woods, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I couldn't let you go off by yourself! You were acting suspicious," she claimed, crossing her arms.

"I told you to go to the TARDIS!" he shouted, towering over her.

"It's a good thing I didn't or else I'd be stuck like Amy and Rory," she retorted. The Doctor opened his mouth to argue back, but only came up with a growl. Jaime didn't look the least bit scared. Normally she'd cower whenever the Doctor raised his voice.

"Now, how about we actually go to where the TARDIS was," she offered.

"The small girl is right," Idris agreed. "You're the Doctor. Focus."

"On what? How, I'm a madman with a box without a box! I'm stuck down the plughole at the end of the universe on a stupid old junkyard! Oh," he said, feeling he was getting a brilliant idea.

"Oh, what?" Jaime asked.

"No, I'm not," he said.

"Not what?"

"Cause it's not a junkyard. Don't you see? It's not a junkyard."

"What is it then?"

"It's a TARDIS junkyard! Come on!" he said, running to the exit. "Oh, sorry, do you have a name?" he suddenly paused.

"Seven hundred years, finally he asks," Idris mumbled.

"So what do I call you?"

"I think you call me... Sexy."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he covered Jaime's ears. "Only when we're alone!"

"Oh, time and a place," Jaime groaned.

*** * * ***

The Doctor led Idris and Jaime to an area of the junkyard where the spare parts were the most strewn about. "A valley of half-eaten TARDISes. You thinking what I'm thinking?" the Doctor asked Idris.

"I'm thinking that all of my sisters are dead, that they were devoured and that we are looking at their corpses."

"Ah. Sorry. No, I wasn't thinking that."

"No. You were thinking you could build a working TARDIS console out of broken remnants of 100 different models. And you don't care that it's impossible."

"It's not impossible as long as we're alive. Rory and Amy need me. So, yeah. We're going to build a TARDIS."

*** * * ***

After quite a few minutes, the Doctor had a basic looking console and two sad walls. Idris was trying "her best" to help as Jaime only stood around. What did she know about building a TARDIS?

"Bond the tube directly into the tachyon diverter," Idris instructed.

"Yes, I have actually rebuilt a TARDIS before, you know. I know what I'm doing," he said rudely, dragging a heavy spare wall.

"You're like a nine year old trying to rebuild a motorbike in his bedroom. And you never read the instructions."

Jaime snickered, covering up her laugh as best as possible. "I always read the instructions!"

"There's a sign on my front door. You have been walking past it for 700 years. What does it say?"

"That's not instructions!"

"There's an instruction at the bottom. What does it say?"

"Pull to open."

"Yes, and what do you do?"

"I push!"

"Every single time. 700 years. Police box doors open out the way." Jaime couldn't hold it in. She threw her head back, laughing out loudly. She clutched her aching stomach as the Doctor shot a glare her way to rival Amy Pond's.

If he wasn't frustrated before, he was now. He threw down the piping he used to pull the spare wall. "I think I have earned the right to open my front doors any way I want."

"Your front doors? Have you any idea how childish that sounds?"

The Doctor growled. "You are not my mother."

"And you are not my child."

"You know, since we're talking with mouths, not really an opportunity that comes along very often, I just want to say, you know, you have never been very reliable. You didn't always take me where I wanted to go," he pointed out.

"No, but I always took you where you needed to go." Jaime paused. The Doctor had told her that he found her in New York by mistake. He never meant to go there. Did the TARDIS purposely take him there just to find her?

"You did," the Doctor smiled. "Look at us. Talking! Wouldn't it be amazing if we could always talk? Even when you're stuck inside the box?"

"But you know I'm not constructed that way. I exist across all space and time and you talk and run around and bring home strays."

"Oi!" Jaime couldn't help, but shout.

Suddenly, Idris stumbled into the Doctor. "One of the kidneys has already failed. It doesn't matter. We need to finish assembling the console."

"Using a console without a proper shell. It's not going to be safe."

"This body has about 18 minutes left to live. The universe we're in will reach absolute zero in three hours. Safe is relative."

"Then we need to get a move on, eh, old girl?" the Doctor stated, pulling the wall back over to the makeshift console.


	20. The Doctor's Wife (#2)

"You'll need to install the time rotor," Idris shouted to the Doctor across the yard.

"Well, how is this going to make it through the rift? How?" the Doctor wondered, putting on a piece of the console. "We're almost done. Thrust diffuser. Ah, retroscope. Blue thingy."

"Do you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago?" Idris asked.

"I chose you. You were unlocked."

"Of course I was. I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away. And you were the only one mad enough."

The Doctor ran over to her, looking at the console in wonder. "Right. Perfect. Look at that. What could possible go wrong?"

A piece of the console quickly sprung off. It didn't need to be there anyway. "That's fine. That always happens. No! Hang on, wait."

The Doctor rushed off for another piece as Jaime sighed, standing off to the side. Idris suddenly approached her. "There's no rush to open it," she said quickly.

"Open what?" Jaime asked, confused about why she was talking to her.

"The box, you silly girl!"

Jaime's eyes widened, hand on her pocket. "The box?"

"The last birthday present your mother ever gave you," she clarified.

"No, I know what you meant," she said quickly. "Do... do you mean the box is... important?"

"My... how interesting the future is. So spectacular and thrilling. I must say... yours is very interesting indeed."

Jaime stepped forward. "Why? What's in my future?"

"Have you learned nothing from traveling with the Doctor?"

Jaime sighed quietly, knowing she wasn't getting an answer. "So... so, my future. It's good?" she guessed.

"Who am I to say?" Idris said simply, taking Jaime's hand and leading her to the new TARDIS with the Doctor.

"Right. Okay, let's go. Follow that TARDIS," the Doctor announced. Jaime looked over at Idris who was mesmerized by her reflection. The Doctor groaned as the new TARDIS made disapproving noises. "Oh, no, come on. There's rift energy everywhere, you can do it. Okay, diverting all power to thrust. Let's be having you."

The TARDIS sparked, refusing to work. "What's wrong?" Idris asked.

"It can't hold the charge. It can't even start. There's no power!" Idris played with her lip in the mirror. The Doctor covered it with his hand, staring at her. "I've got nothing," he said defeatedly.

"Oh, my beautiful idiot. You have what you've always had. You've got me." She kissed her finger, her eyes glowing gold as she pressed her finger to the console. The TARDIS started right up, suddenly taking off. Jaime gripped the console with white knuckles as they flew through space. It almost seemed like they were on fire, everything was so bright.

"We've locked onto them!" Idris cried. "They'll have to lower the shields when we're close enough to phase inside!"

"Can you get a message to Amy? The telepathic circuits are online!"

"Which one's Amy? The pretty one?"

Jaime felt herself getting sicker by the second. She wanted to close her eyes, but that only made her feel worse. Idris telepathically told Rory what to do as he and Amy tried to maneuver House.

"How's he going to be able to take down the shields anyway?" the Doctor asked. "The House is in the control room!"

"I directed him to one of the old control rooms."

"There aren't any old control rooms! They were all deleted or remodeled!"

"I archive them! For neatness! I've got about 30 now!"

"But I've only changed the desktop, what, a dozen times?"

"So far, yes!"

"You can't archive something that hasn't happened yet!"

"You can't," she retorted. Jaime was thankful she was in between the Doctor and Idris. She'd feel even more sick if she was closer to the edge.

"Keep going! You're doing it, you sexy thing!"

"See, you do call me that. Is it my name?"

"You bet it's your name!"

Jaime rolled her eyes. "I'm already feeling sick! Do you have to make it worse?"

The ride got bumpier if that was even possible. Jaime held on for dear life, terrified of falling off. "They did it! Shields down," Idris announced. She sent another message to Rory. "We're coming through! Get out of the way or you'll be atomized!" The makeshift TARDIS shook more, worse than the normal TARDIS ride. "It's not going to hold!" Idris cried.

The console started smoking when they landed roughly. They all collapsed to the floor as they landed in one of the old TARDIS control rooms. Amy and Rory jumped up in delight, Amy quickly hugging the Doctor.

Jaime sat up. "Please tell me I'm not the only one feeling sick."

The Doctor chuckled before helping her up. Jaime wasn't expecting to be pulled into the world's tightest hug from Amy. "Where were you? What were on thinking? Are you hurt?" she asked, spewing out questions.

"I'm fine, Amy. I promise."

Amy sighed before pulling her in for one last hug. Jaime smiled, knowing their feud was over. "Not good," Idris mumbled as the Doctor helped her up. "Not good at all. How do you walk around in these things?"

"Well, we're not quite there yet. Just hold on," the Doctor ordered, sitting Idris down. "Amy, this is... Well, she's my TARDIS. Except she's a woman. She's a woman and she's my TARDIS."

"S-She's the TARDIS?" Amy pointed.

"And she's a woman. She's a woman and she's the TARDIS."

"Did you wish really hard?"

"S-Shut up! Not like that," the Doctor stuttered.

Idris stood up after catching her breath. "Hello. I'm... Sexy."

Jaime burst out laughing, almost feeling the blush grow on the Doctor's face. "Oh, still shut up!"

"The environment has been breached. Nephew, kill them all," House ordered.

"Where's Nephew?" Rory asked.

"He was standing right where you materialized," Amy said.

"Ah! Well, he must have been redistributed," the Doctor said disgustedly.

"Meaning what?" Rory asked.

"You're breathing him. Another Ood I failed to save."

"Doctor, I did not expect you." House spoke.

"Well, that's me all over, isn't it? Lovely old, unexpected me."

"The big question is now you're here, how to dispose of you? I could play with gravity..."

Suddenly, the gravity grew stronger, pulling everyone to the floor. The gravity switched back to normal, but Idris collapsed on the floor.

"Or I could evacuate the air from this room and watch you choke."

As the House said, the air quickly left the room, leaving them all gasping for air. "You really don't wanna do that!" the Doctor managed to say, making the air come on.

"Why shouldn't I just kill you now?"

"Because then I won't be able to help you! Listen to your engines. Just listen to them. You don't have the thrust and you know it. Right now I'm your only hope for getting out of your little bubble through the rift and into my universe. And mine's the one with the food in! You just have to promise not to kill us. That's all. Just promise."

"You can't be serious," Amy protested.

"I'm very serious. I'm sure it's an entity of its word."

"Doctor, she's burning up. She's asking for water," Rory reported Idris's condition.

The Doctor quickly kneeled down beside Idris's failing body. "Hey. Hang in there, old girl. Not long now. It'll be over soon."

"I always liked it when you called me old girl," she choked out.

"You want me to give my word? Easy. I promise." House taunted.

"Fine. Okay. I trust you. Just delete, ooh, 30% of the TARDIS rooms, you'll free up thrust enough to make it through. Activate sub-routine sigma nine."

"Why would you tell me this?"

"Because we want to get back to our universe as badly as you do. And I'm nice."

"Yes. I can delete rooms and I can also rid myself of vermin if I delete this room first. Thank you, Doctor, very helpful. Goodbye, Time Lord. Goodbye, little humans. Goodbye, Idris."

Suddenly, a white light flashed, signaling the old control room being deleted. The companions all thought it was the end. What they weren't expecting was to be teleported to the control room they all knew and loved.

"Yes. I mean you could do that, but it just won't work. Hardwired fail safe," the Doctor explained to the House. "Living things from rooms that are deleted are automatically deposited in the main control room. But thanks for the lift."

"We are in your universe now, Doctor. Why should it matter to me in which room you die? I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords."

"Fear me. I've killed all of them," the Doctor said sadly. "Yeah, you're right. You've completely won. Oh, you can kill us in oodles of really inventive ways, but before you do kill us, allow me and friends Amy, Jaime, and Rory to congratulate you on being an absolutely worthy opponent."

The Doctor pulled Amy up and started clapping, her following his lead. "Congratulations."

"Yep, you've defeated us, me and my lovely friends here, and last but definitely not least, the TARDIS Matrix herself, a living consciousness you ripped out of this very control room and locked up into a human body and look at her."

"Doctor, she's stopped breathing," Rory said sadly.

"Enough! That is enough," House growled as Jaime ran to Idris's side.

"No. It's never enough! You forced the TARDIS into a body so she'd burn out safely a very long way away from this control room. A flesh body can't hold the TARDIS Matrix and live. Look at her body, House."

"And you think I should mourn her?"

"No. I think you should be very, very careful about what you let back into this control room."

Suddenly, Idris' body lurched forward, gold particles erupting from her mouth. "You took her from her home. But now she's back in the box again and she's free."

Streams of gold flooded into the console, giving the TARDIS life again. "No! Doctor, stop this! Ah! Stop this now!"

"Look at my girl, look at her go! Bigger on the inside! You see, House?"

"Make her stop!"

"That's your problem. The size of a planet, but inside you are just so small. Finish him off, girl." House screamed in anguish before disappearing forever. Jaime looked down to see that Idris' body had disappeared. Suddenly, a golden form of Idris stood on the first step by the console.

"Doctor? Are you there? It's so very dark in here."

The Doctor smiled. "I'm here."

"I've been looking for a word. A big, complicated word, but so sad. I've found it now."

"What word?" the Doctor asked softly.

"Alive. I'm alive!"

"Alive isn't sad."

"It's sad when it's over. I'll always be here. But this is when we talked. And now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you."

"Goodbye?" the Doctor said softly, swallowing down tears.

"No, I just wanted to say... hello. Hello, Doctor. It's so very, very nice to meet you."

"Please," he begged. "I don't want you to. Please."

Idris' body leaned back, letting herself be engulfed in gold light. "I love you," she whispered before disappearing completely.

Jaime didn't realize she had tears running down her cheeks until she felt them drip down her chin. Even if the TARDIS was there, things would never be the same again.

*** * * ***

The Doctor spent a lot of time, fiddling with wires under the TARDIS console. The occasional spark flew, showing that everything wasn't going to plan. "How's it going under there?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, just putting a firewall around the Matrix. Almost done," the Doctor assured.

"Are you going to make her talk again?" Amy asked.

"Can't."

"Why not?" Rory asked.

"Spacey wacey, isn't it?" Amy guessed.

"Well, actually, it's because the Time Lords discovered that if you take an 11th dimensional Matrix and fold it into a mechanical, then-" He jumped as Rory touched two wires together, creating a massive spark. "Yes, it's spacey wacey!"

"Sorry," Rory apologized. "At the end, she was talking. She kept repeating something. I don't know what it meant."

"What did she say?"

"The only water in the forest is the river. She said we'd need to know that someday. It doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Not yet," the Doctor admitted. "You okay?"

"No," Rory sighed. "I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does. I'm a nurse."

"Letting it get to you, you know what that's called? Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now is all that counts. Nearly finished. Two more minutes, then we're off. The Eye of Orion's restful, if you like restful. I can never really get the hang of restful. What do you think, dear? Where shall we take the kids this time?" he asked the TARDIS.

"Look at you pair. It's always you and her, isn't it? Long after the rest of us have gone. A boy and his box, off to see the universe," Amy smiled.

"Well, you say that as if it's a bad thing. But honestly, it's the best thing there is."

A large spark snapped the Doctor from his daydreaming. "The House deleted all the bedrooms. I should probably make you two and Jaime new bedrooms. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Okay, um, Doctor, this time could we lose the bunk beds?" Amy asked.

"No, bunk beds are cool. A bed with a ladder. You can't beat that." Amy gave the Doctor a pleading look as Rory groaned. "It's your room. Up those stairs, keep walking till you find it. Off you pop."

On the top of the stairs, Jaime sat on the step, on the verge of falling asleep. Amy chuckled at the sight. She was glad their falling out was over. She missed her little sister. Amy lifted her up by her arm as Jaime struggled to hold herself up. "Somebody's sleepy," Amy said fondly.

Jaime shot her a playful look, thoroughly exhausted. Amy wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leading her down the hallway to find their new rooms.

*** * * ***

Amy Pond was happy the whole disaster with the House was over. While the Doctor, Jaime, and Idris were trying to get to them, House was playing tricks on Amy and Rory in the TARDIS. He made Rory die once from old age, and it nearly tore Amy apart. It was agonizing to experience.

Amy was also glad that the argument between her and Jaime was over. She always knew it was a silly thing to get upset over. She led a tired Jaime to her new bedroom. Rory trailed along behind them silently, dwelling in the peace and quiet.

Once they reached Jaime's room, Amy gently ushered her inside. Although the poor girl was exhausted, she was able to see that her new room looked exactly the same as before. That made her pleased.

Amy showed her to her bed, Jaime letting her tuck her in as if she was five. Amy smiled to herself as Jaime's head immediately landed on the pillow. She gently kissed her forehead, earning a small smile from her. "Sweet dreams, Jaime."

Amy turned to leave, looking back at her once more. Exhausted, Jaime pulled something out of her pocket and placed it on her nearby desk. Amy saw that it was a small jewelry box. She thought nothing of it as Jaime snuggled into her covers, passing out as soon as her eyes shut.

Amy closed the door quietly, heading back to her room with Rory by her side. He looked down at the floor with a confused look

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, stopping in the corridor as Rory crossed his arms.

"Nothing, it's just... that box. She's been carrying it around all day," he explained, trying to comprehend the situation.

"What, that small box she just took out of her pocket? What's the deal with it?" Amy asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he confessed. "She tried to hide it, maybe it's important."

Amy considered it, but shook her head. "It's probably nothing. It's none of our business. Besides, girls have to have their jewelry," she smirked.

She looped her arm through Rory's, sighing a relaxing sigh as they continued their way to their room.

*** * * ***

The Ponds were having one of the most peaceful nights they'd ever had in the TARDIS. The Doctor hadn't tried to sneak off because he was bored, leaving the TARDIS quiet except for the gentle hum from the machinery. That is until they were rudely woken up by a shrill scream.

Amy thought she was in the middle of a nightmare at first. But she realized it was all too real as the shouts didn't stop. Rory shot up from his sleep as he too heard the awful noise.

"Jaime," she whispered, throwing on a dressing gown before racing out of the room.

Rory was hot on her trail as the Doctor ran from a hallway, also following the noise. The shouts turned into sobs as they ran to Jaime's room. Amy nearly kicked the door down, desperate to get inside.

The door opened to reveal a broken Jaime, sobbing on the floor in anguish. Amy kneeled down beside her as Jaime cried into her hands.

"Jaime, what's wrong?" Amy questioned in panic, grabbing her shoulders.

"It's gone! It's gone!" she sobbed, keeping her head down.

The Doctor and Rory glanced around the room as Amy wrapped her arms around Jaime's trembling shoulders. She knew she wasn't going to get much out of her. She looked around to see what could be missing.

Amy looked over at the desk to see if it looked like anything was missing. She mentally scanned the desktop, noticing that something was out of place. The box that Jaime took out of her pocket only hours ago was gone.

She knew Jaime didn't misplace it. She watched her place it on the desk before falling asleep. Jaime threw her arms around her, crying into her shoulder. Amy gripped her tighter as she looked at a worried Rory and Doctor. She gently shook her head at them, signaling them to ask about it later.

They understood, leaving the girls alone. Amy rubbed Jaime's back as she shushed her gently. "It's alright, sweetie. We'll find it, I promise."


	21. The Rebel Flesh

It was an average day on the TARDIS, no places to go. The travelers decided to do something to pass the time. As the Doctor tinkered around at the console, playing some strange music, Amy and Rory played darts while Jaime sat off to the side, trying to read a book.

Ever since her box disappeared, she barely spoke. She felt guilty for losing it before she found out what was inside. Everyone had tried to help her find it with no such luck. It was nowhere.

Jaime tried to forget about it, trying to convince herself that it wasn't important. Now she'll never know. Rory and Amy continued to argue about darts, someone being unfair about the rules. Suddenly, the Doctor shut the music off. "Who wants fish and chips?"

Rory raised his hand, obviously tired of playing darts with a cheating Amy. "I'll drop you three off. Take your time. Don't rush," the Doctor insisted.

Jaime pushed herself off the chair, glad to go somewhere to get her mind off things. "Er, and you?" Rory asked.

"Uh, things to do. Things involving other things," the Doctor spoke.

"Well, we'll stay with you. We'll do the other things," Amy said, going up to the console.

"Nope."

"Whatever you're up to, I'd personally like to be a part of it," Amy pointed.

The Doctor stared at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. He was about to speak before a loud alarm started blaring. The TARDIS shook, violently tossing the passengers about.

"Solar tsunami. Came directly from your sun," the Doctor explained. "A tidal wave of radiation. Big, big, big!"

"Uh, Doctor, my tummy's going funny," Rory groaned.

"Well, the gyrator disconnected. Target tracking is out." The Doctor pushed a lever, straining. "Assume the position!" he yelled before dropping to the floor, the lights going out.

Amy ran to a jump seat, covering her head. Jaime and Rory dropped down to the floor, prepared for impact. The TARDIS landed abruptly, the lights flashing back on. Everything slowed down, the Doctor jumping into the air. "Textbook landing."

*** * * ***

"Behold! A cockerel. Love a cockerel." The Doctor and his companions left the TARDIS to see where they landed. It was definitely earth. They landed on an island with a large castle looking structure in front of them.

"And underneath, a monastery, uh, 13th century," the Doctor observed.

"Oh, we've gone all medieval," Amy marveled, closing the TARDIS doors once Jaime followed her out.

"I'm not sure about that," Rory said.

"Really? Medieval expert, are you?"

"No, it's just that I can hear Dusty Springfield." Jaime smirked as they heard the song playing. The Doctor observed a hole in the ground, revealing underground piping.

"These fissures are new. Solar tsunami sent out a huge wave of gamma particles. This is caused by a magnetic quake that occurs just before the wave hits."

"Well, the monastery's standing," Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, for now," the Doctor mumbled.

"Doctor, look," Rory pointed down to the pipe with the word **DANGER - CORROSIVE** printed on it.

"Yeah. It's a supply pipe," he said, scanning it with the sonic. "Ceramic inner lining. Something corrosive. They're pumping something nasty off this island to the mainland."

"My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield," Rory mused.

"Who isn't?" the Doctor questioned. "Right, let's go! Satisfy our rabid curiosity."

He ran up a wooden staircase, leading them through the castle's wall. "So, where are these Dusty Springfield-loving monks, then?" Amy asked as they walked around the courtyard.

The Doctor scanned a wall. "I think we're here. This is it."

"Doctor, what are you talking about? We've never been here before," Rory said.

"We came here by accident," Jaime added, trailing behind the others.

"Accident?" The Doctor stopped. "Yes, I know. Accident." Rory touched a piece of piping, pulling his hand back in pain. "Acid. They're pumping acid off this island. That's old stuff. Fresh acid, you wouldn't have a finger."

_"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"_ an alarm blared.

"There are people coming," the Doctor said sheepishly. "Well, almost."

"Almost coming?" Amy asked.

"Almost people," the Doctor said, observing his sonic. He took off running further into the courtyard, the companions reluctantly following. The Doctor led them into a room with large hallways at other ends. Inside were bunches of harnesses, some holding unconscious humans in jumpsuits.

"What are all these harnesses for?" Amy asked.

"Uh, the almost people?" Rory asked.

"What are they, prisoners? Or are they meditating, or what?"

"Well, at the moment they fall into the 'or what' category," the Doctor explained.

"_Halt and remain calm_," a robotic voice ordered as the alarm silenced.

"Well, we've halted. How are we all doing on the calm front?" the Doctor asked rhetorically.

"Don't move!" a voice shouted. Three people wearing orange jumpsuits ran in, wielding spear like weapons.

"Stay back, Jen," one of the men said. "We don't know who they are."

Amy looked at the man talking and then at one of the people in a harness. It was the same man. All of the people standing before them were also in harnesses behind them.

"So let's ask them. Who the hell are you?" a small woman asked.

"Well, I'm the Doctor and this is Amy, Jaime, and Rory and it's all very nice, isn't it?"

"Hold up," Amy spoke. "You're all... what are you all, like identical twins?"

"This is an Alpha-grade industrial facility," another woman said, coming up from behind them. Her other body was also in a harness. "Unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetsan, you are in big trouble."

The Doctor pulled out his physic paper. "Actually, you're in big trouble."

"Meteorological Department? Since when?"

"Since you were hit by a solar wave."

"Which we survived."

"Just, by the look of it. And there's a bigger one on the way."

"Which we'll also survive," the woman said, "Dickens, scan for bugs," she ordered one of the men who walked in with her.

"Backs against the wall. Now," he ordered.

The four travelers obliged as the man scanned them. "You're not a monastery, you're a factory," the Doctor said. "22nd century Army-owned factory."

"You're Army?" Amy asked.

"No, love, we're contractors and you're trespassers.

"It's clear, boss," the man said after scanning the four intruders.

"Alright, weatherman, your ID checks out. If there's another solar storm, what are you going to do about it? Hand out sunblock?"

The Doctor laughed. "I need to see your critical systems," he said seriously.

"Which one?" the woman asked, obviously not pleased.

"You know which one."

*** * * ***

The woman whose name was Cleaves, led everyone into an open room with a large tub at the far end. The Doctor got up close to it, observing the bubbling, white liquid inside. "And there you are," he whispered.

"Meet the government's worst kept secret. The Flesh," Cleaves announced. "It's fully programmable matter. In fact, it's even learning to replicate itself at the cellular level."

"Right. Brilliant," Amy said sarcastically. "Lost."

"Okay," Cleaves said, confused. "Once a reading's been taken, we can manipulate its molecular structure into anything, replicate a living organism down to the hairs on its chinny chin chin. Even clothes. And everything's identical. Eyes, voice-"

"Mind, soul," the Doctor continued.

"Don't be fooled, Doctor, it acts like life, but it still needs to be controlled by us from those harnesses you saw."

"Wait, whoa, hold it," Rory protested. "So, you're Flesh now?"

"I'm lying in a harness back in that chamber. We all are, except Jennifer here. Don't be scared. This thing, just like operating a forklift truck."

"You said it could grow. Only living things grow," the Doctor interrupted.

"Moss grows. It's no more than that. This acid is so dangerous, we were losing a worker every week. So now we mine the acid using these doppelgangers, or Gangers. If these bodies get burnt or fall in the acid-"

"Then who the hell cares?" one of the men asked. "Right, Jen?"

Jennifer looked sheepish before quickly carrying on an explanation. "Nerve endings automatically cut off, like airbags being discharged. So we wake up and get a new Ganger."

"It's weird, but you get used to it," another man said.

"Jennifer, I want you in your Ganger. Get back to the harness," Cleaves ordered.

The Doctor ran his sonic over the white liquid, trying to figure out exactly what it was.

"Hang on. What's he up to? What are you up to, pal?" one of the men protested.

The Doctor looked like he was trying to pull away, but couldn't. He strained himself, pulling away in shock. "Strange. It was like for a moment there it was scanning me." He put his hand out over the liquid as if to touch it.

"Doctor," Cleaves warned. He put his hand on top of the liquid, shaking as more bubbling appeared. "Get back, Doctor, leave it alone!"

The Doctor's eyes squeezed shut as his hand trembled. He quickly pulled back. "I understand."

"Doctor?" Amy said worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Incredible," he marveled. "You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind. I reached out to it and it to me."

"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor."

"How can you be so blinkered? It's alive, so alive. You're piling your lives, your personalities directly into it." The building shook as lightning flashed outside. "It's the solar storm. The first waves come in pairs. Pre-shock and fore-shock. It's close," the Doctor explained as the building shook more.

"Buzzer, we got anything from the mainland yet?" Cleaves asked.

"No, the comms are still too jammed with radiation," Buzzer replied.

"Okay, then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop. Now, why don't you stand back and let us impress you?" Cleaves gloated.

Suddenly, a tub that sat beside the large container started filling up with the white liquid. It filled up all the way before stopping. A face appeared at the top, taking its shape as the mouth and eyes opened. The rest of the liquid left as the body formed.

The body looked exactly like Jennifer, but her face was a pale white with red streaks across it. Suddenly, she sat up, taking in a loud breath of air. She looked completely human.

"Well, I can see why you keep it in a church," the Doctor said. "Miracle of life."

"No need to get poncy. It's just gunge," Buzzer said.

"Guys, we need to get to work," Cleaves ordered.

"Okay, everybody, let's crack on," one of the men said.

A large flash of lightning once again shook everyone. "Did I mention the solar storm?" the Doctor said. "You need to get out of here."

"Where do you want us to go? We're on a tiny island," a man said.

"Well, I can get you all off it."

"Don't be ridiculous. We've got a job to do," Cleaves reminded.

"It's coming," the Doctor warned.

Suddenly, an alarm went off. "That's the alarm," Jennifer said.

"How do you get power?" the Doctor asked.

"We're solar. We use a solar router. The weathervane," Cleaves said.

"Big problem."

"Boss, maybe if the storm's back, we should get underground," a man said. "The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit."

"We have 200 tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?" Cleaves sneered.

"Please," the Doctor said, pulling her away. "You're making a massive mistake here. You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't, if you don't prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger. Understand?"

"My factory. My rules," Cleaves gloated. She glared at him before walking away to get to work.

"I need to check the progress of this storm. Monitoring station," the Doctor said, pointing to Jennifer who hesitated. _"Monitoring station."_

"Three lefts, a right, and a left. Third door on your left," she directed.

*** * * ***

The storm grew more violent once the Doctor and his companions found the monitoring station. "Waves disturbing the Earth's magnetic field. There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. See this weathervane, the cock-a-doodle-do? It's a solar router feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits... kaboom. I've got to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose," the Doctor rambled, running out of the room.

He stopped in his tracks, suddenly laughing. "I never thought I'd get to say that again." He suddenly pointed at Amy. "Amy, breathe." Then he ran off.

"Yeah. I mean, thanks, I'll try," she shrugged.

Amy paused when she felt a small hand slip into hers. She looked down to see a trembling Jaime clutching onto her. Strange, Jaime was so distant and confident when they got in their fight.

Nevertheless, she happily held her hand, quickly leaving after the Doctor. Suddenly, the building shook the hardest, sending the three of them roughly to the ground.

*** * * ***

Amy's eyes opened, but she immediately winced. Rory awoke beside her, also groaning. "Oh! For want of a better word, 'ow'." She turned over to see Jaime laying on her side across the room. She rubbed her head, getting up as quickly and painless as she could. On her knees, Amy crawled over to Jaime who was just starting to wake up.

"Jaime. Come on, Jaime," she coaxed. Jaime's hand went to her forehead, cradling it in pain. Amy rubbed her arm gently until she managed to sit up."You alright?" she asked gently.

Jaime nodded slowly as Rory got up. Together, Amy and Rory helped her to her feet. The storm still went on outside, but it wasn't as violent as before. "We need to find the Doctor," Jaime said.

Amy nodded, pulling Jaime close to her. She saw a lantern on the floor, still illuminating light. Amy picked it up, leading Jaime and Rory to the room where the harnesses were. Jaime pulled away, strong enough to hold herself up.

Amy opened a large door that led to the room with the harnesses. Inside, two of the men were helping Buzzer out of his harness. "I feel like I've been toasted," Buzzer moaned.

"What the hell happened?" one of the men asked.

"The tsunami happened. You hurt?" Amy asked.

"It feels like the National Grid's run through my bones, but apart from that," one of the men said sarcastically.

"I hope the meter's not bust. I still want to get paid," Buzzer complained.

Suddenly, the sound of weeping came from across the room. "Jennifer!" Rory ran over to her. "Jennifer. Hey, alright?" he asked softly. She gazed at him with a terrified look on her face.

"It hurt so much," she cried.

"Hey, it's okay. It's over," Rory comforted, hugging her.

"I-I couldn't g-get out of my harness," she stuttered. "I thought I was going to die."

"Welcome to my world."

Amy smiled at him fondly as Jennifer hugged Rory tightly. Suddenly, the Doctor ran in with Cleaves trailing behind him. "Doctor, these are all real people, so where are their Gangers?" Amy asked him, holding Jaime close to her.

"Don't worry. When the link shuts down, the Gangers return to pure Flesh," Cleaves assured. "Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time."

Suddenly, music started playing from across the monastery. "That's my record," one of the men said. "Who's playing my record?"

"Your Gangers, they've gone walkabout," the Doctor said.

"No, it's impossible," Cleaves protested. "They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves, and Gangers don't..."

She stopped when the song suddenly changed. Jaime held Amy's hand who squeezed it tightly. This wasn't good at all.

*** * * ***

Buzzer and a man known as Jimmy, led the others into a large room where the record player was. But no sounds were heard and the room was a complete mess. "No way," Jimmy exhaled.

"I don't... I-I don't believe this," Cleaves said.

"They could've escaped through the service door at the back," Jimmy said.

"This is just like the Isle of Sheppey," Buzzer mused.

"It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers," the Doctor observed.

"They've ransacked everything," Cleaves said.

"Not ransacked, searched," the Doctor corrected.

"Through our stuff!" Cleaves protested.

"_Their_ stuff," the Doctor corrected again.

"Searching for what?" Jimmy asked.

"Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real."

"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now?" Buzzer said.

"They feel compelled to connect to their lives."

"Their _stolen_ lives," Cleaves insisted.

"No. Bequeathed. You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything. You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?"

"I'll say it again. Isle of Sheppey," Buzzer said. "Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator right there in his harness. I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was all hanging-"

"Even if this has actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed in to them," Jimmy interrupted. "Can they, boss?"

"Guess we'll find out," Cleaves said.

Suddenly, Jennifer gasped, as if in pain. "Are you okay?" Rory asked. "Do you need some water?"

"I feel funny. I need the washroom," she said, quickly leaving the room.

"I'll come with you," Rory decided, chasing after her.

The Doctor sat at a table, staring at a house of cards. "That's me," Buzzer said. "It's good to have a hobby. So what? My Ganger did that all on its own?"

"Who taught you to do this?" the Doctor asked.

"My granddad."

"Well, your Ganger's granddad taught him to do it, too. You both have the same childhood memories, just as clear, just as real."

"No," Buzzer claimed, knocking the cards over.

"Scared, disorientated, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads," the Doctor said, getting up from his chair.

"Are you a violent man, Jimmy?" the Doctor asked, getting out some nearby food.

"No."

"Then why would the other Jimmy be?"

"Tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor," Cleaves sighed.

"You told me we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact, it was an hour."

"Sorry? I just assumed-"

"Well, it's not your fault. Like I said, they're disorientated. Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness?"

"Um, Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out."

"Jennifer?" the Doctor asked, taking a very hot plate out of the microwave.

"She was standing on her own when we got to her."

The Doctor handed the plate to Cleaves, who held it, giving him a strange look.

"It's hot," the Doctor smirked. She hissed in pain before dropping it on the ground. "Trans matter's still bit rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly."

"What are you talking about?" she sneered. Cleaves looked up at him with a scared look. "Why didn't I feel that?"

"You will. You'll stabilize."

"No, stop it. You're playing stupid games, stop it!" she yelled, turning her back on him.

The Doctor hesitantly walked up behind her. "You don't have to hide. Please, trust me, I'm the Doctor." Cleaves hissed, turning to face him. Her face was a milky white with red streaks.

"That's it. Good, you remember," the Doctor said softly. "This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn."

"Doctor, what's happened to her?" Amy asked.

"She can't stabilize. She's shifting between half-formed and full-formed. For now, at least."

"We are living," Ganger Cleaves wheezed. She suddenly screamed, sprinting out of the room.

The Doctor gestured sheepishly. "Let her go."

"Doctor, Rory," Amy said.

"Rory?"

"Rory!" Amy said, showing he wasn't around.

"Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory." The Doctor, Amy, Jaime, and Jimmy ran out of the room and outside the building. A thick stream of acid crossed over the concrete.

"Explosion must've ruptured the acid feeds," Jimmy said. "We're gonna need the acid suits."

"No, no, no. We haven't got time. Back, back, back!" Jimmy led them back inside and down to the washroom where Jennifer went. One of the stall doors had a large hole in the middle where light streamed in.

"Of course, Jennifer's a Ganger, too," the Doctor said.

"Doctor, you said they wouldn't be violent," Amy said.

"But I did say they were scared and angry," he said, walking over to the broken mirror.

"And early technology is what you said," Jimmy added. "You seem to know something about the Flesh."

"Do you? Doctor?" Amy asked. He turned to face her with a sad expression.

"You're no weatherman. Why are you really here?" Jimmy questioned.

"I have to talk to them. I can fix this," the Doctor said, running up the stairs. Amy and Jaime chased after him.

"Wait! What's going on? Where's the real Jennifer?" Jimmy asked, running after them.

The Doctor went up a set of stairs that led up to a hallway. He started to go down until a large puff of steam came out of a pipe on the wall. Acid leaked onto the floor.

"It is too dangerous out here with acid leaks," the Doctor said, fed up.

"We have to find Rory," Amy protested.

"Yes, I'm going back to the TARDIS. Wait for me in the dining hall," the Doctor ordered. "I want us to keep together, okay? No more wandering off."

"And what about Rory?" Amy asked.

"Well, it would be safer to look for Rory _and_ Jennifer with the TARDIS." The Doctor disappeared down the stairs and Amy shut her eyes in annoyance.

"Here we go," Jimmy said, opening a small door in a wall. "Distress flares."

He closed the door, only to jump as the Doctor stood next him. "Exit?"

"Keep going straight. Can't miss it. But you're never going to get your vehicle in here."

"I'm a great parker." The Doctor disappeared down the hall as Amy tried to make her way around the acid cloud.

"Fine and dandy. I'm just going to find my husband. So, cheers," Amy said on the other side of the cloud.

"Amy, I wouldn't-" Jimmy protested.

"Nor would I. What can you do, eh?"

"I'm coming with you," Jaime spoke up, following her.

Amy whirled around. "Whoa, no, you're not. Go back with Jimmy."

Jaime put on her puppy dog eyes. "Please?" she asked pitifully.

Amy looked away before groaning and grabbing Jaime's hand. Jaime hid her smile as Amy pulled her down the hallway like she was a little child.

"At least wait for an acid suit," Jimmy said, but the girls ignored him.

*** * * ***

Amy and Jaime made their way through the monastery until a large black door lay before them. Jaime hid behind Amy as she approached the door. "Rory? Rory?"

Amy opened the door as it slowly creaked open. She looked at the far wall to see the same woman looking through the wall she'd seen before. The hole the woman looked through slammed shut. Amy gasped, quickly closing the door. "Amy, what was it? What's in there?" Jaime asked, shaking in fear.

"Amy!" a voice called behind them. They both turned to see Rory standing in front of them.

"You're okay," Amy sighed. "What happened?"

Jennifer poked her head out from behind Rory. She looked absolutely terrified. "She needs protecting," Rory said.

"Jen?" Dickens asked, coming around the corner with Buzzer.

"No, it's a Ganger," Amy protested. "Rory, listen-"

"No, you listen. Nobody touches her!" he shouted protectively, keeping Buzzer and Dicken back.

*** * * ***

"Where's Jen? What have you done with her?" Buzzer interrogated Ganger Jennifer.

"I haven't seen her, I swear." They were all back in the dining hall, sitting at the large table. Everyone, but the Doctor and Cleaves were there. "But look, I'm her. I'm just like her. I'm real."

"You're a copy," Jimmy corrected. "You're just pretending to be like her."

"Rory, we don't really know anything about them yet," Amy said.

"Well... I know that she's afraid and she needs our help." Amy tried to protest, but Rory ignored her.

"Jimmy, Buzzer, come on, you guys. We've worked together for two years," Ganger Jennifer assured.

"I worked with Jennifer Lucas, not you," Buzzer sneered.

"Okay," Amy interrupted. "Let's not do anything at all. Until the Doctor gets-"

"Until the Doctor gets here. Hello," the Doctor said, walking in with the other four Gangers behind him.

Jimmy looked at the Ganger of himself who looked human. "This is..."

"You're telling me," his Ganger replied.

"Alright, Doctor, you've brought us together, now what?" Ganger Cleaves said.

"Before we do anything, I have one very important question. Has anybody got a pair of shoes I could borrow? Size 10, although I should warn you, I have very wide feet."

*** * * ***

"The Flesh was never merely moss," the Doctor said after getting a new pair of shoes. "These are not copies. The storm has hardwired them. They are becoming people."

"With souls?" Jimmy asked.

"Rubbish," Dicken.

"What? We were all jelly once. Little jelly eggs sitting in goop," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, thanks, too much information," Amy spoke.

"We are not talking about an accident that needs to be mopped up. We are talking about sacred life. Do you understand? Good. Now, the TARDIS is trapped in an acid pool. Once I can reach her, I can get you all off this island, humans and Gangers. How does that sound?"

"Can I make it home for Adam's birthday?" Jimmy asked.

"What about me?" Ganger Jimmy said. "He's my son, too."

"You? You really think that?" Jimmy asked in disbelief.

"I feel it."

"Oh, so you were there when he was born, were you?"

"Yeah. I drank about eight pints of tea. Then they told me I had a wee boy and I just burst out laughing. No idea why. I miss home as much as you."

The Doctor stood up. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, it's a right old mess, this. But as you might say up north, 'Oh, well, I'll just go to t'foot of stairs'," he said, chuckling. " 'Ee by by gum'. Or not. Good. Right. First step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe. Then get everyone out of here."

"But we're still missing Jennifer and Cleaves," Amy pointed out.

"I'll go and look for them," Jimmy said, promptly leaving the room.

"This circus has gone on long enough!" Cleaves shouted, coming out from behind them all, wielding a sort of weapon.

"Oh, great," Ganger Cleaves sighed. "You see, that is just so typically me.

"Doctor, tell it to shut up," Cleaves snarled. "Circuit probe. Fires about, oh, 40,000 volts? Would kill any one of us, so I guess she'll work on Gangers just the same."

"It's interesting you refer to them as 'it', but you call a glorified cattle prod a 'she'," the Doctor pointed out.

"When the real people are safely off this island, then I'll happily talk philosophy over a pint with you, Doctor."

"What are you going to do to them?" Amy asked.

"Sorry, they're monsters. Mistakes. They have to be destroyed."

"Give me the probe, Cleaves," the Doctor said, slowly approaching her.

"We always have to take charge, don't we, Miranda," Ganger Cleaves taunted her. "Even when we don't really know what the hell is going on."

Suddenly, Buzzer ran towards her. Cleaves shot her probe on instinct, sending electricity coursing through Buzzer until he fell down dead. The Doctor quickly ran over to him. "Ugh. Dead! You stopped his heart. He had a heart! Aorta, valves, a real human heart! And you stopped it."

Ganger Jennifer's eyes turned white. "Jen?" Rory asked.

"What happened to Buzzer will happen to us all if we trust you!" she seethed.

"Wait, wait," the Doctor said, trying to calm her down.

Rory looked to see Cleaves pointing her probe at Ganger Jennifer. "No!"

He tackled her to the ground, giving the Gangers the chance to run off. "No!" the Doctor shouted, trying to get them to come back.

Suddenly, Jaime cried out in pain. She dropped to the ground clutching her left arm. A soft sizzling noise was heard from underneath her thick sweater.

"Jaime!" Amy cried, dropping down next to her. Jaime bit her lip to keep herself from crying out. The Doctor ran over as she shook violently, her sleeve starting to steam. He pulled her sleeve up to see a burn forming on her arm.

"Jaime, can you hear me?" he asked as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Rory quickly disabled Cleaves' weapon, running over to a hunched over Jaime. No one knew what to do since they didn't know what was hurting her. Suddenly, the burning stopped and Jaime gasped. Amy ran to get some cloth to cover up her arm.

The Doctor scanned her with the sonic, still not knowing what harmed her. There wasn't any acid around that could've caused the burn. Rory snatched the cloth from Amy, wrapping Jaime's arm. "Jaime? Jaime darling, are you alright?" Amy questioned.

Jaime's eyes cracked open as she whimpered in pain. The Doctor rubbed her hair soothingly before leaving Amy and Rory to care for her. "Look what you've done, Cleaves," he growled.

"If it's war, then it's war. You don't get it, Doctor. How can you? It's us and them now. Us and them."

"Us and them," Dicken agreed.

Cleaves looked to Jimmy who sighed. "Us and them."

Amy and Rory lifted Jaime up as she wiped her tears. She sat on the floor, shaking harder than ever. "Hey, hey. Are you okay?" Amy asked quietly.

Jaime looked up at her, trembling in fear and leftover pain. "Amy, what's happening?" she whispered, tears running down her face.

Amy's heart shattered. She pulled Jaime close as the girl cried on her shoulder. She'd never wanted to leave somewhere so badly before. Rory placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, equally confused as everyone else.

"The most fortified and defendable room in the monastery," the Doctor said. "Cleaves, the most fortified and defendable room in the monastery."

"The chapel," she answered. "Only one way in, stone walls two feet thick."

Amy and Rory helped Jaime to her feet, being careful of her arm. "You've crossed one hell of a line, Cleaves. You've killed one of them. They're coming back. In a big way."

*** * * ***

"What about the flares?" Jimmy asked as they all ran towards the chapel.

"We'll worry about the flares when we're locked inside."

Suddenly, a loud scream echoed down the hallway. It sounded like Jennifer. Rory stopped in his tracks guiltily. "Rory, come on," Amy said, gently pushing Jaime inside.

"Jen's out there. She's out there and she's on her own," he said.

"Well, if she's got any sense, then she's hiding," the Doctor said.

"I can't leave her out there! I know you understand that," Rory told Amy.

"Get in here! Get in here!" she ordered.

The Gangers appeared from down the hallway, all in their acid suits. Rory took off down a different corridor. The Doctor pulled Amy into the chapel, locking the door. "Amy, they are not after him, they're after us," he assured.

Suddenly, a strained, familiar voice came from the shadows. "Why? Why?"

"Show yourself. Show yourself!" the Doctor cried.

Everyone fortified the door, blocking the entrance. Jimmy started laughing. "This is insane! We're fighting ourselves."

"Yes, it's insane. And it's about to get even more insanerer," the Doctor said. "Is that a word? Show yourself, right now!"

"Doctor!" Amy stopped. "We are trapped in here and Rory's out there with them. Hello, we can't get to the TARDIS and we can't leave the island."

Suddenly, the Doctor's voice came from the shadows. "Correct in every respect, Pond. It's frightening, unexpected, frankly a total, utter, splattering mess on the carpet. But I am certain, 100% certain that we can work this out."

A Ganger of the Doctor came out of the shadows. "Trust me. I'm the Doctor."


	22. The Almost People

Everyone was in shock, staring at the Doctor's Ganger. How did it even get created? Suddenly, the Ganger yelled in pain, holding the side of his head. "What's happening?" the Doctor asked.

The Ganger started mumbling. "One day we will get back? Yes, one day." He cried out in pain again. "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow."

"The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations. Hold on!" the Doctor said.

Suddenly, the Ganger shot his hand out. "Would you like a jelly baby?" he said in a much deeper voice. "Why, why? Why?" he shouted in his normal voice.

"Why? Why what?" the Doctor asked.

"Hello. I'm the Doctor," the Ganger said in a completely different voice. "No, let it go. If we've moved on," he gritted through his teeth in his normal voice.

The Doctor grabbed ahold of him as Jaime watched curiously from Amy's side. "Hold on, hold on! You can stabilize."

"I've reversed the jelly baby with the neutron flow," the Ganger said. "And now, would you like a... Doctor, Doctor... I'm the... I'm the..." he whispered in pain.

"No!" the Ganger cried, tossing the Doctor aside. Jaime looked up at the Ganger, his skin milky white, his eyes severely bloodshot. It was a terrifying sight.

Suddenly, the Gangers started banging on the door again. Buzzer, Jimmy, Cleaves, and Dicken quickly barricaded the door with more things. Finally, the banging stopped. "I think I liked it best when they were noisy," Buzzer admitted.

Amy took her chance to run to the Doctor. "Doctor, we need you, get over here."

Suddenly, the Ganger stood up, no longer in pain. "Hello," he said with a smile.

"Doctor," Amy spoke.

"Cybermats."

"Do we have time for this?" the Ganger asked.

"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me," the Doctor said.

"Cybermats. Created by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brain waves," the Ganger replied.

"Are you sure there aren't any weapons they could get to, like big guns with bits on?" Amy asked the others, seeing that the Doctor was paying no attention to her.

"Yeah, big guns would be good right now," Buzzer said.

"Why would we have guns? We're a factory, we mine," Jimmy said.

Suddenly, the door they leaned against starting steaming, a hissing noise being heard. "Acid," Amy said, frightened.

The Gangers started pounding on the door, the others hesitantly holding up makeshift weapons.

"Rory, Amy, and Jaime, they may not trust both of us," the Doctor whispered to the other Doctor.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" "Inevitably."

"You see, I'm glad we're on the same-" "Wavelength. See? Great minds."

"Exactly. So, what's the plan?" "Save them all, humans and Gangers."

"Tall order, sounds wonderful." "Is that what you were thinking?"

"Yes, it's just so inspiring to hear me say it."

The Doctor laughed. "I know."

"So, what now, Doctor?" "Well, time to get cracking, Doctor."

They both stepped forward, approaching the group of humans. "Hello! Sorry," both of them said.

Amy looked down to see that one of the Doctors had on the usual black boots, while the other one wore brown boots that were given to him.

"But we had to establish a few-" "Grounds rules. Formulate a-" "Protocol."

"Protocol. Very posh," one of the Doctors complimented.

"No, no. A protocol between us, otherwise-" "It gets horribly embarrassing." "Potentially confusing."

"Okay, well, I'm glad you solved the problem of confusing," Amy spat.

"That's sarcasm," the Doctor realized.

"She's very good at sarcasm."

"Breathe," both of the Doctors told Amy.

"What?"

"We have to get you outside," the Doctor changed the subject.

"And the Gangers, too."

"Sorry. Would you like a memo from the last meeting?" Cleaves glared. "They are trying to kill us!"

"They're scared," the Doctor countered.

"Doctor, we're trapped in here," Jaime reminded.

"Right, see, I don't think so. The Flesh Bowl is filled by cabling from above," the Doctor said.

"But where are the earthing conduits, hmm?"

"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something," the Doctor thought.

The Doctor moved a piece of wood to reveal a large vent. "Yowza! An escape route. You know, I'm just starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me."

"Do you tend to say 'yowza'?" the other Doctor asked.

"That's enough. Let it go, okay? We're under stress."

*** * * ***

"The army will send a recon team out," Buzzer said.

"We need to find a way to contact the mainland," Cleaves said. They had all escaped through the large vent, successfully before the Gangers got in.

"What about Rory and Jen? They are both out there," Amy reminded.

"No, this place is a maze. Takes a long time to find someone in a maze. I bet you lot have got a computer map, haven't you?" the Doctor said.

"If we can get power running and scan for them it'll be a lot quicker," Cleaves said.

Suddenly, the air got dirty from the acid leaks, causing everyone to start coughing. "Doctor, you said earlier to breathe," Amy remembered.

"Very important, Pond, breathe," he agreed.

"Yeah, well, I'm struggling to."

Everyones coughs got worse as the air became more unclean. "Acid interacting with the stone," the Doctor wheezed.

"Creating an asphyxiant miasma," the Doctor said.

"A what?" Cleaves heaved.

"Chokey gas. Extra heavy. If we can get above it..."

"The evac tower. This way!" Cleaves said, running away from the gas.

*** * * ***

Jaime's lungs were grateful when they finally got to the evac tower. Everyone took deep gulps of air to calm their lungs. "I think I've coughed so hard I've pulled a muscle or something. It's okay. It's easing off," Amy assured.

The Doctor and Cleaves got to work on the machinery and computers as the others piled in. A large bell started tolling. "Midnight," Jimmy said sadly. "It's Adams birthday. My son's five. Happy birthday, bud."

"Can you really get the power back?" Cleaves asked in disbelief.

"There's always some power floating around-" "Sticking to the wires like bits of lint."

Amy groaned. "Can you stop finishing each other's-"

"Sentences?" the Doctor finished. "No probs," the other Doctor said.

"No, but hang on. You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid. So won't she be damaged?" Amy asked.

"Nah, she's a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy."

"No, tough, _dependable_, sexy," the other Doctor corrected.

"Come on. Okay, how can you both be real?" Amy asked.

"Well, because we are. I'm the Doctor."

"Yeah, and so am I. We both contain the knowledge of over 900 years of memory and experience. We both wear the same bowtie, which is cool."

"Because bowties are-" "And always will be."

"But how did the Flesh read you? Because you weren't linked up to it," Amy asked as Jaime walked over, rubbing her forehead.

"Well, it must have been after I examined it. Thus a new, genuine Doctor was created."

"Tada!"

Jaime groaned loudly. "You two are giving me a headache."

"No getting away from it. One of you was here first."

"Well, okay, after the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now new shoes, a situation which did not confront me learned self here."

"That satisfy you, Pond?" the other Doctor asked.

"Don't call me Pond, please." Both of the Doctors stopped their work to look at her with concern faces. "What?"

"Interesting. You definitely feel more affecting for him than me," the Doctor observed.

"No. No, I... look, you're fine and everything, but he's the Doctor. No offense. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."

"Well, being almost the Doctor is like being no Doctor at all," the Ganger Doctor protested.

"Don't overreact," Amy said.

"You might as well call me Smith."

"Smith?"

"John Smith!" "Yes! Communication a go go," the other Doctor said.

The devices all turned on, the others running over. "Find Rory, show me the scanning tracking screen," Amy ordered Cleaves.

"There's no sign of him anywhere," Cleaves said, seeing the map for the whole island. As nothing else appeared, Cleaves tried to call the mainland. "St. John's calling. Emergency Alpha. St. John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain?"

All that came up was static and the sound of controls being used. "We'll never get a signal through this storm," she sighed.

"_We're_ _just_ _about_ _reading_ _you,_ _St_. _John's_," a voice came over. "_How_ _are_ _you_ _doing?_ _We've_ _had_ _all_ _sorts_ _of_ _trouble_ _here_._"_

"Request immediate evacuation. We're under attack," Cleaves replied. "The storm's affected our Gangers. They're running amok."

_"Your_ _Gangers?"_

"Yes, our Gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out."

"_Copy_ _that,_ _St_. _John's_. _Shuttle's_ _dispatched_. _Hang_ _on_."

"You'll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac tower. And, Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following code word. I'm typing it in case they're listening in," she replied, typing in a code.

"_Got_ _it_. _We'll_ _swing_ _in,_ _get_ _you_ _out_ _and_ _decommission_ _the_ _Flesh_._"_

Jaime walked over to the stone wall, gently sliding down to the floor. She absentmindedly felt her arm where she had been burned. The thought of being burned from an invisible source scared the light out of her.

"We're going to get out of here. We are, we're going to get out," Buzzer repeated.

"But we're not leaving without them," Amy protested.

"I want him found, too, but it's about casualties, isn't it? Can't be helped," Buzzer sneered.

Jaime looked up to see the Ganger Doctor standing by himself, looking angry at the world. He hadn't said a word since the power got back on. Amy looked at him with a strange look, too.

Suddenly, Amy heard a strange noise coming from the wall beside her. It sounded like some sort of heavy, metallic breathing. She got out of her chair, staring at the wall where the sound seemed to be coming from. No one else had noticed it.

Suddenly, a hatch seemed to appear out of the wall. A woman was seen wearing an eyepatch. Amy gasped at the sight. The Doctor whirled around in his chair at her noise. She looked back to see the wall looking just like it had before.

"Amy? What happened?" the Doctor asked.

"It's her again."

"It's who again?"

"There's a woman I keep seeing, a woman with an eyepatch. And she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me. Doctor?" Amy asked when he didn't reply.

"Nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing."

"It's time memory, like a mirage. It's nothing to worry about," the Doctor assured.

Suddenly, Jaime gasped in pain. She felt a horrible sensation on her leg. It felt like something was burning her. She quickly looked around, not seeing any acid. The skin on her leg steamed slightly, revealing a small, but nasty burn.

Jaime's breathing turned rapid. What was happening to her? She looked up to see that nobody noticed her discomfort. Suddenly, the other Doctor walked out of the room. "Hey, hold on," Buzzer protested.

"Don't go!"

"No, leave it to me," Amy said, chasing after him. The Doctor looked at the door sadly.

Jaime took the chance, getting to her feet to sit in Amy's vacant chair beside the Doctor. He smiled at her warmly. "Hello, Jemma. How you holding up?"

She sighed at his use of her name. "Fine."

Jaime avoided looking at him, staring at her boot clad feet. "Doctor..." she said quietly.

"Jaime," he replied, just as quiet.

"What's happening to me?" she asked worriedly. "The whole thing where I was burned without a reason."

The Doctor turned his chair to face her. He reached out for her hands which she willingly let him take. "Jemma Woods, I promise you... no matter what happens, I will always be there. I'll be there to get you out of any sticky situation or hardship."

"You don't mean that," she whispered in a broken voice.

"Why wouldn't I?" The Doctor leaned forward, softly kissing her forehead. Jaime leaned her head on his shoulder, still holding onto his hands.

"Don't open it even though she wants you to," the Doctor spoke softly.

Jaime lifted her head up, looking at him in confusion. "What?" The Doctor released her hands and looked away as if something confusing came to his mind. "Why?" he asked himself.

Suddenly, Amy ran back inside. "Keep him away from me!" she said as the other Doctor walked back inside.

"Did you feel it?" he asked the Doctor.

"Briefly, not as strong as you."

The Ganger looked at a frightened Amy. "Amy, I'm sorry."

"No. Hey, you keep away. We can't trust you," she spat.

"It would appear I can connect to the Flesh," the Ganger told the others.

"No, you _are_ Flesh," Amy sneered.

"I'm beginning to understand what he's been through, what he needs."

"What _you_ want. You are it!" Amy shouted.

"It's much more powerful than we thought. The Flesh can grow, correct?"

"Its cells can divide," Cleaves agreed.

"Well, now it wants to do that at will," the Ganger told Cleaves. "It wants revenge. It's in pain, angry. It wants revenge."

"I was right, you're not the Doctor, you can't ever be," Amy sneered. "You're just a copy."

"Doctor?" Cleaves asked the Ganger. "It might be best if you stayed over there for now. Hmm?"

"Hold on a minute. Hold your horses," the real Doctor spoke up. "I thought I'd explained this, I'm him, he's me."

Cleaves ignored him. "Doctor, we have no issue with you. But when it comes to your Ganger..."

"Don't be so absurd."

"Buzzer," Cleaves said with no emotion.

"Sure, boss." Buzzer set a barrel down in the middle of the room. "Take a seat, mate."

"Nice barrel, very comfy. Why not?" the Ganger said. "Is this really what you want?"

*** * * ***

A voice came over the intercom after the awkward moment with the Doctor's Ganger.

_"This_ _is_ _the_ _shuttle_. _We're_ _right_ _above_ _you,_ _but_ _we_ _can't_ _get_ _low_ _enough_. _Gamma_ _static_ _could_ _fry_ _our_ _nav_ _controls_. _Sit_ _tight,_ _we'll_ _get_ _you_. _Just-"_

The Doctor ran his sonic over the machine as the voice silenced. "Hello? Can you hear me?" Jimmy asked.

Amy groaned in frustration. "I can't find Rory. I'm going out there."

"We could use the sonic to track him," the Doctor said. "Humans and Gangers give off slightly different signals, the sonic needs to tell the difference."

"Oh, so the sonic knows Gangers are different. So the other Doctor is different."

"He _is_ the Doctor," the Doctor protested.

"Not to me, I can tell," Amy said.

"Sure you're not prejudiced?"

"Nice try. But I know, okay? We've been through too much. You're my Doctor, end of."

"Hey, there's a camera up. We've got a visual," Buzzer pointed out.

Amy quickly ran to it. "That's Rory and Jennifer."

"They're heading for the thermostatic room," Cleaves said.

"Let's go get them," Amy said.

The Doctor tossed his sonic to the Doctor who sat on the barrel. "Hang on," Amy protested.

"You can't let him go. Are you crazy?" Cleaves asked.

"Am I crazy, Doctor?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, you did once plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to hold its orbit and win a bet."

"He can't go rescue them. I'm going," Amy said.

"Do you know, I want him to go," the Doctor said. "And I'm rather adamant."

"Alright. They'll need company. Right, boss?" Buzzer asked. "It's fine. I'll handle it."

"Thank you, Buzzer," the Ganger said. "It'll be alright. I'll find him."

The Ganger Doctor and Buzzer left the room. "Can't explain it to you now, but I need you to trust him," the Doctor said once they'd left. "Can you do that for me, Amy?"

"And what if you're wrong?"

*** * * ***

"These temperature gauges are rising," Cleaves said, looking at a computer screen. "Jennifer and Rory must've shut off the underground cooling vents."

"Why do that? It'll kill us," Dicken said.

"There's a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet."

"I know, it's heating up the whole island," the Doctor said. "How long until it blows?"

A large, sudden earthquake shook the island. "Gangers or no Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here," Dicken said.

"Shuttle, we need evac," Cleaves spoke into the intercom. "Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you-" She stopped when she pressed her hand to her head in pain. "I'm fine," she insisted. "I'm waiting for results, so let it go."

"It's a very deep parietal clot," the Doctor said.

"How can you possibly... inoperable?" she asked.

"On earth, yes."

"Well, seeing as earth's all that's on... offer." The Doctor gave her a look, causing her to raise her eyebrows at him. "I'm no healthy spring chicken and you're no weatherman, right?"

Suddenly, another large earthquake shook. "Something just cracked, I heard it," Amy announced.

"Yeah, we can't stay here. Let's go!" the Doctor said.

"He's right, let's shift!" Jimmy said.

"Cleaves to shuttle, respond. We need to move and we can't be collected from the evac tower," she spoke into the intercom.

_"Give_ _us_ _the_ _codeword_._"_

"The code word is-" A tremor threw everyone back, alarms starting to blare. Cleaves went back to the intercom, but nothing worked.

"Cleaves, Cleaves, it's dead! It's dead. We need to get out of here," the Doctor said. "We need to get back downstairs and get those vents back on, come on."

*** * * ***

Cleaves led the others through the monastery, leading them to a hallway. Jaime shivered when she saw that the wall had large eyes attached to it. Even worse, they followed you when you moved. "Ah. The eyes have it," the Doctor said.

"Why are they here?" Amy asked.

"To accuse us."

"Ignore them," Cleaves said, "It's not far."

Jaime clung to Amy as they quickly ran past. They continued down the ominous corridor until they reached a large room with piping and a computer. The Doctor and Cleaves immediately got to work. "It's a chemical chain reaction now. I can't stop it. This place is going to blow sky high."

"Exactly how long have we got?" Cleaves asked.

"An hour? Five seconds? Somewhere in between." Suddenly, steamed flooded in as another alarm went off. "Out!" the Doctor shouted.

They all ran out of the room, Amy nearly crying in relief at who she saw. "Oh, Rory," she cried, hugging him tightly.

"There's a way out. Jennifer found it," he told the others. "A secret tunnel under the crypt."

"From the crypt? It's not on the schematics," Cleaves protested.

"It leads right out of the monastery, maybe even under the TARDIS, Doctor. Follow me." Rory quickly led everyone down the corridor, Jaime grasping Amy's hand like it was her lifeline. They came to a room with a large tub like structure in the middle.

"We can't leave without Buzzer!" Jimmy protested.

"I'll go back for him," Cleaves volunteered.

"Uh, Doctor, look, I'd better tell you, I haven't been quite straight with you," Rory said from outside the room.

Suddenly, a smug faced Jennifer closed the door, keeping her and Rory outside. Cleaves ran to the door, trying to open it as Jennifer locked it. "Hang on, Jen, we don't want to lock them out. We should just show them what we found," Rory said.

"I don't think so," Jen replied.

"Rory Pond. Roranicus Ponticus!" the Doctor said in frustration.

"Rory, what the hell are you playing?" Amy said angrily.

"They've been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot... alive! I think the world should see that."

"Rory, there is no time. This factory's about to explode!" the Doctor said.

"Are you sure about this?" Rory asked Jen. "Cause I'm not. Let them out."

"The little girl got strong," Jen said. "The little girl lost on the moors in her red wellies, looking for a way home. Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?"

"But, that wasn't... it was the other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl."

"Oh? What other Jennifer?" she asked, flashing her eyes a nasty, milky white.

"Wait, you tricked me. Let me go, I'm opening the door, let me... I'm sorry!" Rory shouted as Jennifer dragged him away.

"No!" Amy cried in anguish.

The Doctor scanned the large tub in the middle of the room. "This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid. Just as a point of interest."

"And we can't stop it?" Cleaves asked calmly.

"Just as a point of interest? No," the Doctor admitted.

Dicken found a sort of lid to lower down onto the top of the tub. "It'll never hold her," Jimmy deadpanned.

"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears. In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears," the Doctor said as the lid slammed shut.

Jaime winced as another pain shot through her, this time on her lower back. She whimpered as it increased, making her slide down to the floor. She shut her eyes tightly, praying for the pain to go away. She could feel it making its way to her shoulders.

Amy looked over to see Jaime tightly clenching her fists. She was in pain. Amy quickly dropped down next to her. "Jaime, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said in one breath, quickly sucking in another.

"Is it happening again?" she asked quickly. Jaime whimpered, not being able to help it. Amy placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, feeling the heat on Jaime's back. "Doctor!" she called worriedly.

"No," Jaime weakly protested.

The Doctor saw her red face and quickly ran over. "Hey, hey, it's alright," he said comfortingly.

She sucked in a huge breath. "I'm fine. Really, it's alright," she struggled to say.

Amy laughed in disbelief. "No, it's not!"

Jaime calmed down as the pain finally subsided. "It's okay. It's gone now. Don't worry about me," she assured.

The Doctor scanned her with the sonic, getting back some strange results. He dare not share it with anyone. At least not yet.

"The acid's eating through," Cleaves reported.

The building shook violently, sending everyone to the ground. Jimmy tried to keep the lid down, but was struggling to do so. Suddenly, the lid opened enough for acid to pour out onto him. He cried out in pain as the door swung open, revealing Jimmy's Ganger. "Let me through!" he cried.

"There's nothing we can do. The acid's reached his heart," the Doctor said sadly.

Ganger Jimmy held a gasping Jimmy, trying to steady him. "Hang in there, mate."

"I'm quite handsome from this angle," Jimmy gasped.

"I'm sorry," the Ganger apologized. "I'm the fake. Adam deserves his real dad."

"Shut up."

"What do you want me to do? Anything. Just say."

"The way things are, mate, it's up to you now." Jimmy pulled his necklace up to Ganger Jimmy. "Be a dad. You remember how."

Seconds later, Jimmy closed his eyes for one last time. Ganger Jimmy held up the necklace that had a golden ring on it.

"Jimmy Wicks, you're a dad."

*** * * ***

Ganger Jimmy led the others out to the dining hall where the other Gangers were. A video call was up with his son, Adam. Jimmy hesitantly walked into the cameras view.

_"Daddy, it's me,"_ little Adam said.

Jimmy laughed. "Hey, sunshine. What are you up to?"

_"Opening all my presents."_

"Ah, good lad. You have fun today. And remember your dad, he loves you very, very much."

_"When are you coming home?"_

"Daddy's coming home today, Adam," the Doctor spoke. Jimmy grinned at the little dance Adam did. The Doctor turned to the others. "Now we need to move."

*** * * ***

In an underground tunnel, the Doctor led the group of humans and Gangers to escape the monastery. Suddenly, growling came from the end of the corridor. There stood Ganger Jennifer. But she didn't look like Jennifer anymore, her body morphed into a tall, slender creature.

"Run. Run!" the Doctor ordered.

They all ran down the corridor until they reached a corner. Noises of falling gravel and dirt started to be heard. "Ooh, roof's gonna give." Dickens and his Ganger held a door shut.

"We have to stop her. This door doesn't lock!" the Ganger said.

"No, but the far one does," Dicken said. He opened the door, quickly running to close the other. When Jen got close enough, the door finally closed, but Dicken was on the other side. Ganger Dicken cried out as Dicken's screams were heard. "No!"

He shut the door, the Doctor, Jaime, and Amy standing against it. "Here she comes," the other Doctor announced. The roof shook when the TARDIS suddenly dropped down. "Oh, she does like to make an entrance!"

The other Doctor opened the door, Rory immediately going to it. "Get on the move!" Jennifer pounded on the unlockable door, Ganger Dicken, the Doctor, Amy, Jaime, and Ganger Cleaves keeping it shut.

"I'm not leaving," Cleaves said.

Her Ganger rolled her eyes. "Go!" Cleaves hesitated before running into the TARDIS.

"Hey, hey, now's our chance," Amy said.

"I have to stay, hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize," the Doctor said.

"Oh, don't be crazy. Okay, what happens to you, hmm?"

"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her."

"Both of you can survive this. I mean, there has to be a way," Amy protested.

"Or perhaps you think I should stay instead, Mr. Smith?" the other Doctor said.

"No, of course not," Amy said. "But look, this man, I've flown with him. You know? And you are amazing, and yeah, I misjudged you. But you're not... him, I'm sorry."

"Amy, we swapped shoes," the Doctor against the door said.

"I'm the Doctor," the one she spoke to said.

"And I'm the Flesh," the one against the door said.

"You can't be. You're the real him," Amy said.

"No, I'm not and I haven't been all along."

Amy gaped. "What?"

"I'm the original Doctor, Amy. We had to know if we were truly the same. It was important, vital we learn about the Flesh. And we could only do that through your eyes."

Amy took it all in as Jaime joined Rory's side. Amy hugged the Ganger Doctor, feeling guilty for her actions. "I never thought it possible."

"What?"

"You're twice the man I thought you were."

"Push, Amy. But only when she tells you to," the Ganger Doctor whispered.

Jennifer banged against the door again. "Amy, come on!" Rory shouted.

Amy ran into the TARDIS, Rory and Jaime behind her. The Doctor went to the console, looking out of it. Amy noticed and gently reached out to him. "Uh, the energy from the TARDIS will stabilize the Gangers for good. They're people now," he said to Cleaves, Ganger Dicken, and Ganger Jimmy. The only ones who got out alive.

"And what happens to me?" Cleaves asked. "I still have this," she pointed to her head where the clot was.

"Ah! That's not a problem, I have something for that. It's er, small and red and it tastes like burnt onions. But it'll get rid of your blood clot."

The Doctor pulled up a red vile and tossed it to Cleaves. He reached over the console and got ahold of a red balloon. "Happy endings."

*** * * ***

The Doctor dropped Jimmy off to see his son and took Cleaves and Dicken back to Morpeth Jetsan. "You really want us to do this?" Cleaves asked as they all approached a main door.

"Your company's telling the world that the situation is over. You need to get in there and tell them that the situation has only just begun. Make them understand what they're doing to the Flesh. Make them stop," the Doctor told Cleaves who looked nervous.

"Dickens, remember, people are good, in their bones, truly good. Don't hate them will you?" the Doctor said.

"How can I hate them? I'm one of them now."

"Yeah. And just remember, people died. Don't let that be in vain. Make what you say in that room count."

"Ready?" Cleaves asked Dicken. "Side by side."

"You got it, boss."

The two of them went into the room, immediately being showered by the press. Jaime stretched, wincing at the soreness of her back. "You okay?" Amy nudged the Doctor.

"I said, breathe Pond. Remember? Well, breathe."

"Why?" she asked.

"Breathe," he reminded.

Suddenly, Amy doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. She looked up at the Doctor warily. "What's wrong with her?" Rory asked seriously.

"Get her into the TARDIS," the Doctor said solemnly as he left for the TARDIS.

Rory helped a groaning Amy into the TARDIS as Jaime quickly followed them. "Doctor, what is happening to her?" Rory asked sternly.

"Contractions. She's going into labor," the Doctor said facing away.

"Did he say... no, no, of course he didn't," Amy brushed off. "Rory, um, I don't like this." Another pulse of pain shot through her stomach.

"You're going to have to start explaining some of this to me, Doctor!" Rory shouted, starting to get scared.

"What, the birds and the bees? She's having a baby. I needed to see the Flesh in its early days, that's why I scanned it. That's why we were there in the first place. I was going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened, and there was stuff and shenanigans. Beautiful word, shenanigans."

"It hurts," Amy cried.

"You'll be okay," Rory assured.

Suddenly, Jaime cried out. They all heard the terrible sizzling noise and smelt burnt flesh. She fell to her knees as various places of her body swelled with pain. Tears flooded down her face that she couldn't keep in anymore.

"Jaime!" Amy groaned, but couldn't move.

Rory knelt down next to her trembling form. "Doctor, she's burning up!"

"I needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh," the Doctor explained.

"What signal?" Amy snapped.

"The signal to you. And just recently to Jaime."

Amy looked up at him, almost pleading. "Stand away from them, Rory," the Doctor said solemnly.

"Why? No! And why?"

"Given what we've learned, I'll be as humane as I can, but I need to do this and you need to stand away!"

Jaime sobbed as she curled up into a ball, trying to block out the pain. Rory hesitated before backing away from his wife. Amy's lip trembled. "Doctor, I am frightened. I'm properly, properly scared."

"Don't be. Hold on. We're coming for you, I swear. And whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you."

"I'm right here," she insisted.

"No, you're not. You haven't been here for a long, long time."

He backed away from Amy, kneeling down beside Jaime. She was now covered in burns from the invisible source. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I promise we will find you."

Jaime couldn't reply as he got to his feet with a dark look in his eyes. He pointed his sonic at Amy, causing Rory to gasp in fear. The Doctor pressed a button, instantly turning Amy and Jaime into leftover, inanimate Flesh.

*** * * ***

Amy gasped awake to find herself in a small, solid white room. She was laying down on a stiff table and wore a white gown. Suddenly, a hatch opened above her to show the woman with the eyepatch she had been seeing for months.

"Well, dear, you're ready to pop, aren't you? Little one's on its way. Better go. The other one's waiting ever so patiently."

Amy looked down to see a large bump on her stomach. "Here it comes," the woman smiled maniacally. "Push."

Amy's stress and anxiety built up enough for her to let out a blood curdling scream.


	23. A Good Man Goes to War (#1)

Amelia Pond didn't know she had been kidnapped long ago and replaced by a Ganger. She didn't know Jaime had suffered the same fate. The woman who Amy saw so often was finally introduced as Madame Kovarian.

Apparently, Amy was pregnant when she thought so back in America where she watched the Doctor die by the hand of an astronaut. For some unknown reason, Madame Kovarian wanted her baby. For as long as Amy was there, she never found out why the woman wanted her child.

When Amy gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, she named her Melody after her childhood best friend. Every so often, Madame Kovarian would take Melody away from her mother. Amy would only see her baby for a few minutes every day.

Amy still didn't know why Jaime was kidnapped with her. They wanted something from her and they were willing to go to great lengths for it. Everyday, Jaime was taken from Amy to a "special room" just for her. Amy was forced to stay in a solid white room, soldiers trapping her inside.

She was alone for most of the time.

A large window let her see the large base/asteroid they were on known as Demon's Run. Amy would hold little Melody in her arms, praying for Jaime to be returned soon. Amy didn't know why they did the things that they did to her, and frankly, she didn't want to know.

Madame Kovarian would order Jaime to be taken away from Amy and into the other room. Hours later, she'd return with the most awful injuries. Burns covered her body, black bruises in various places. Just when she'd start to get better, they'd do it all over again. The torture would go on while Amy was allowed to see her baby.

She never had Melody and Jaime with her at the same time.

It got to the point where Jaime lost all sense of emotions, staring blankly at the wall after her sessions. Her tears stopped rolling down her face and she quit protesting. All she could do was let it happen.

That was the scariest part for Amy; watching Jaime shut down. She tried to get answers, but no one ever slipped information. She could only hope the Doctor would come to save them from this living hell.

*** * * ***

Down the corridor from Amy's room, Jaime was once again strapped down to a chair in a blank room. Various torture devices lay scattered around the room, but not all of them had been used on her yet. The only clear emotion left in her was the fear of the unknown.

Jaime's strength was gone as she slumped limply in the chair, only her bindings keeping her up. Why did this have to happen to her? What had she ever done wrong?

She didn't bother lifting her head when the door opened. This was a daily routine, she knew who came in; the witch herself. Madame Kovarian stood in front of Jaime as two more soldiers accompanied her. They were always the ones to do her dirty work.

"Good morning, Jemma. Did you have a nice rest?"

The girl kept silent since she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She needed to save her breath if she wanted to live. "Are you ready now? Are you ready to give in?" Kovarian hissed.

On a small table in front of her, Madame Kovarian set down a small box. Jaime recognized it as the box her mother gave her. She wasn't surprised by it anymore. She still didn't know why or how they took it, but she didn't bother to ask.

"Oh, come on, _Jaime_. You know you want to open it," she taunted.

Jaime glared up at her as her bones burned. Madame Kovarian waited, hoping today was the day she would give in. "We can't open it without you."

"Are you incapable of opening a box?" Jaime spat, exhausted tears filling her eyes.

"It's not the box we can't open. It's what's _inside_ the box," Madame Kovarian explained. "You look exhausted, poor thing. Just open the box and we'll set you free."

Jaime sniffed, pure hatred running through her veins. "Never."

*** * * ***

Amy's head spun around as she heard the door open. Like everyday, Jaime was dragged into the room before being tossed onto the floor. Her skin was a sickly white that contrasted with her black bruises. Amy ran over, carefully helping her up. Her white clothing was singed at the edges, patches of blood staining her white gown.

"Oh, Jaime," Amy cried. She helped her to the corner of the room where Jaime always stayed. She never had the strength to move. The corner was the only place she could get comfortable.

"I'm fine," Jaime whispered, her face scrunched up in pain.

A tear ran down Amy's face. She was about to speak when Melody started to cry from her crib. Amy lifted her child into her arms, instantly stopping her cries.

Jaime looked up to see the baby girl. She hadn't been able to see her before as Madame Kovarian seemed to always keep them apart. For whatever reason, Amy was allowed a longer time with Melody today.

"Can I see her?" Jaime asked, barely audible.

Amy nodded softly, kneeling down. Jaime weakly lifted her scarred arms to cradle the fragile baby. She was shaky, but she forced herself to steady her arms. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Amy and Rory's perfect child napping in her arms.

"She's beautiful," she smiled despite the setting.

Amy's smile faltered. "Why are they doing this to you?" she sobbed quietly.

"I don't know," Jaime breathed simply, gently rocking a sleeping Melody.

"I wish I could do something," Amy cried.

"It's okay, Amy. It'll be over soon. The Doctor will come, he always does."

Amy tried to convince herself that Jaime was right. She couldn't help but notice the doubt flashing through her tired eyes.

*** * * ***

"I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved," Amelia Pond told her newborn baby. "That you'll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn't a time for lies."

Amy lifted her precious child out of her solid white crib and into her arms. "What you are going to be, Melody, is very, very brave."

As Amy held her daughter, she tried to ignore the guards with guns standing right behind her. "Two minutes," Madame Kovarian warned.

"But not as brave as they'll have to be, because there's someone coming," Amy said warningly. "I don't know where he is or what he's doing, but trust me. He's on his way.

*** * * ***

** _Twenty_ ** ** _thousand_ ** ** _light_ ** ** _years_ ** ** _away_ **

A Cyberman battle ship was awaiting to arrive at the infamous Demon's Run. Everything was going well until it seemed that someone unwanted was onboard.

"_Intruder,_ _level_ _nine_. _Seal_ _level_ _nine_," a Cyberman ordered in its robotic voice.

A large tremor and blast of sparks showed just how hard it would be to get rid of the intruders.

*** * * ***

"There's a man who's never going to let us down," Amy said to her daughter. Melody seemed to be listening to every word, taking in her mother's voice.

Outside the window looking out into the interior of Demon's Run, the army was assembling. Soldiers were preparing for the worst, accompanied by a species known as the Headless Monks. They were the ones who wore long brown cloaks, darkness enveloping where their heads should be.

"And not even an army can get in the way," Amy finished.

Madame Kovarian approached with arms open to accept little Melody. Amy's motherly grip only tightened.

"Leave her. Just you leave her." Amy couldn't do anything as Melody was taken from her arms. "Please, leave her!" she cried.

*** * * ***

"_Intruder,_ _level_ _11_. _Seal_ _levels,_ _12,_ _13_ _and_ _14_," a Cyberman commanded.

Another tremor violently shook the ship.

_"Intruder,_ _level_ _15_._"_

*** * * ***

With the only heart Madame Kovarian might've possessed, she let Amy finish her story for her child as she lay in the portable crib.

"He's the last of his kind. He looks young, but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Melody, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone."

Amy softly kissed her daughter's forehead as she began to cry. "Because this man is your father. He has a name, but the people of our world know him better as the Last Centurion."

*** * * ***

The Cybermen stood before a door, ready to engage with the intruder. The door opened to reveal an unamused Rory Williams, dressed in his Centurion garb.

"I have a message and a question. A message from the Doctor and a question from me. Where is my wife?"

As expected, the Cybermen didn't say a word, only holding their weapons up.

"Oh, don't give me those blank looks. The Twelfth Cyber Legion monitors this entire quadrant. You hear everything. So, you tell me what I need to know. You tell me now and I'll be on my way," Rory said, standing in front of a window looking out to the rest of the Cyber ships.

_"What_ _is_ _the_ _Doctor's_ _message?_" a Cyberman asked.

Suddenly, the ships outside exploded, the rest of the legion easily taken down.

"Would you like me to repeat the question?"

*** * * ***

** _London,_ ** ** _1888_ ** ** _A_ ** **.** ** _D_ ** **.**

The sky was dark and the air was muggy. A hooded figure stepped out of a carriage, having arrived at their destination.

"Thank you, Parky. I won't be needing you again tonight," a female voice spoke, dressed in black with a veil covering her face.

"Yes, milady," the driver replied politely.

The woman stepped into her house, her maid greeting her. "Oh, you're back early, ma'am. Another case cracked, I assume?"

The hooded woman placed one of her swords back in its rightful place on a stand. "Send a telegram to Inspector Abberline of the Yard. Jack the Ripper has claimed his last victim."

"How did you find him?" the maid whispered in astonishment..

The woman pulled her hood down, showing her Silurian self. "Stringy. But tasty all the same. I shan't be needing dinner."

"Congratulations, ma'am. However, um... a matter has arisen in the drawing room."

The Silurian woman quickly went to the drawing room, her maid trailing behind her. "It just appeared. What does it mean?"

The woman smiled once she saw the TARDIS sitting at the end of the room. "It means a very old debt is to be repaid. Pack the cases, Jenny, we're going to need the swords."

*** * * ***

** _The_ ** ** _Battle_ ** ** _of_ ** ** _Zaruthstra,_ ** ** _4037_ ** ** _A_ ** **.** ** _D_ ** **.**

Weapons were fired, shooting lasers across the battlefield. The people's clothing was set for the 18th century even though it clearly wasn't. A man was furiously searching for aid.

"Nurse!" he cried desperately. Explosions threw him off track, forcing him to go into a large, wrecked building. "Dammit, where's the nurse?"

A woman stood beside a young boy who laid on a table unconscious. "He needs help," she insisted.

"Madame President, I'm sorry, but we have to go now. Those things could be here any second."

Suddenly, a short figure dressed in blue armor entered, taking off its dome shaped helmet. Underneath, its head held the same dome form as the helmet. It was a Sontaran. "Did somebody call for a nurse?"

*** * * ***

The Sontaran nursed the child back to health, the boy now awake. "Will I be okay?" he asked.

"Of course you will, my boy, you'll be up and about in no time. And perhaps one day, you and I shall meet on the field of battle and I will destroy you for the glory of the Sontaran Empire," the Sontaran deadpanned.

The boy looked confused. "Thanks, nurse," he said warily.

The Sontaran nodded then quickly left to get back to work. The man from earlier followed him outside. "Commander Strax, I just have to ask. A Sontaran nurse?"

"I serve a penance to restore the honor of my clone batch. It is the greatest punishment a Sontaran can endure. To help the weak and sick," Strax explained.

"Who came up with that one?"

Before he could answer, the sound of engine rang out over the explosions and clamor.

"Tonight, though, perhaps my penance is over. Captain Harcourt, I hope someday to meet you in the glory of battle, where I shall crush the life from your worthless human form. Try and get some rest."

*** * * ***

River Song strolled down the hallway of her prison as the alarms blared. She was dressed in an old dress with a long, ruffled skirt, holding a type of glove that was used to cover ladies hands while they ice skated.

She happily picked up the telephone on the wall by her cell. "Oh, turn it off, I'm breaking in, not out. This is River Song, back in her cell. Oh, and I'll take breakfast at the usual time. Thank you."

The alarms promptly turned off as she glided back to her cell. She stopped when she saw a dark figure dressed in some sort of costume. "Oh, are you boys dressing up as Romans now? I thought nobody read my memos."

"Dr. Song," Rory greeted as he stepped into the light. "It's Rory. Sorry, have we met yet? The time streams, I'm not quite sure where we are."

"Yes. Yes, we've met," River said in disbelief as if she couldn't believe he was there. "Hello, Rory."

Rory frowned. "What's wrong?"

"It's my birthday," River said once she caught her breath. "The Doctor took me ice skating on the River Thames in 1814, the last of the great Frost Fairs. He got Stevie Wonder to sing for me under London Bridge."

"Stevie Wonder sang in 1814?"

"Yes, he did! But you must never tell him."

"I've come from the Doctor, too."

"Yes, but at a different point in time," she pointed out.

"Unless there's two of them."

"Now, that's a whole different birthday," she smirked, walking to her cell, looking through her journal.

"He needs you," Rory said, stopping her in her tracks.

"Demon's Run," River realized, looking up from her journal.

"How... how did you know?" Rory asked in surprise.

"I'm from his future. I always know. Why on Earth are you wearing that?"

"T-The Doctor's idea," Rory stuttered.

"Of course. His rules of engagement. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

"Look ridiculous," Rory finished. "They've taken Amy. And our baby, along with Jaime," he said quickly to stop her from leaving.

River's face dropped. She knew what was coming and she knew what she had to do.

"The Doctor's getting some people together," he explained. "We're going after them, but he needs you, too."

"I can't," River whispered. "Not yet, anyway."

"I'm sorry?" Rory glared.

"This is the battle of Demon's Run, the Doctor's darkest hour. He'll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further. And I can't be with him till the very end," River spoke on the verge of tears.

"Why not?" Rory spat.

"Because this is it," River breathed, walking into her cell. "This is the day he finds out who we are."

"We?"

*** * * ***

The large, blue man named Dorium was quickly closing his shop. He heard too much, and now he could only run in fear. He looked around his shop one more time, sighing in defeat. "Goodbye," he whispered.

He opened a small briefcase, shuffling through the items inside. He didn't notice the figures coming up behind him.

"You appear to be closing down, Dorium," a crude voice spoke.

*** * * ***

"What have you heard?" Madame Kovarian asked as soldiers pointed their guns right at Dorium's head.

"That you pricked the side of a mighty beast, Madame Kovarian, and entirely failed to run. I admire your courage. I should like to admire it from afar," he answered, pushing the gun barrels away from his head.

"We've been waiting a month. He's done nothing," Madame Kovarian said.

"Do you really think so? There are people all over this galaxy that owe that man a debt. By now, a few of them will have found a blue box waiting for them on their doorstep. Poor devils."

"You think he's raising an army?" a colonel asked from beside Madame Kovarian.

"You think he isn't? If that man is finally collecting on his debts, God help you. And God help his debtors."

"Why?" the colonel sneered.

"Colonel Manton, all those stories you've heard about him, they're not stories, they're true," Dorium laughed. "Really. You're not telling me you don't know what's coming?"

"We're wasting our time here," Colonel Manton huffed.

"Agreed," Madame Kovarian spoke, getting to her feet..

"The asteroid, where you've made your base, do you know why they call it Demon's Run?" Dorium continued.

"How do you know the location of our base?" Colonel Manton questioned.

Dorium sighed. "You're with the the Headless Monks, they're old customers of mine."

"It's just some old saying," Madame Kovarian brushed off.

"A very old saying. The oldest. _Demons run when a good man goes to war,"_ Dorium recited.

Madame Kovarian glared at him as she walked out, Colonel Manton following her. Dorium only laughed as he went into one of his spare rooms. Suddenly, an unmistakeable engine noise was heard.

"No! No, no, please! Not me," Dorium pleaded as the TARDIS landed in front of him. "You don't need me. Why would you need me? I'm old, I'm fat, I'm blue. You can't need me!"

*** * * ***

** _Demon's_ ** ** _Run_ **

Colonel Manton stood on a high platform, giving all the troops a motivational and informational speech as three Headless Monks stood behind him. The others stood off to the side.

"He is not the Devil. He's not a god. He's not a goblin or a phantom or a trickster. The Doctor is a living, breathing man. And as I look around this room, I know one thing. We're sure as hell going to fix that."

Amy Pond watched the speech from her room. Her heart pounded as the soldiers cheered the eminent death of the Doctor. The door closed loudly, signaling that someone entered.

Amy turned to see a young female soldier, Lorna Bucket walk in. She had all of her gear on, but still held a soft, innocent face. "Sorry. I-I shouldn't be here, I'm meant to be at the thing."

Amy glared as the girl tried to be friendly. Why would she try? Did she not see what situation they were all in?

"I brought you something. Your child's name, in the language of my people," she said, holding out the small fabric she had sewn. "It's a prayer leaf, and we believe if you keep this with you, your child will always come home to you."

"Can I borrow your gun?" Amy asked.

"Why?"

"Cause I've got a feeling you're going to keep talking," she sneered.

Lorna looked ashamed. Amy faced her, giving her a stare down. "If no one else will answer my question, perhaps you will. I don't care what they do to me, but answer this. Why are they doing this to Jaime?"

Lorna looked behind Amy, just noticing the young girl slumped over in the corner. "I-I don't know. I'm sorry."

"How can you not know?" Amy whispered harshly. "You're a solider, shouldn't you know what you're fighting for?"

Lorna looked down. "It's too bad."

"Too bad? How can you say such a thing?" Amy spat. "Do you not see what they're doing to her? Jaime was my daughter before Melody, why should I care for her any less? If it's so bad, why don't you take a stand and stop it?"

Amy angrily turned away from the soldier. She looked out the window at the cheering crowd. "They're talking like he's famous. The Doctor isn't famous."

"He meets a lot of people. Some of them remember. He's sort of like a... I don't know. A dark legend," Lorna chuckled.

"Dark," Amy scoffed. "Have you met him?"

"Yeah. But I was just a little girl then."

"So was I," Amy smiled.

"You've been with him a long time, then?"

"No. He came back for me."

Lorna smiled. "You must be very special." She turned to leave.

"Hey," Amy stopped. "You can wait a long time for the Doctor, but he's worth it, okay? Thing is, he's coming, no question about it. Just you make sure you're on the right side when he gets here. Not for my sake, for yours."

Amy held her hand out, smiling when Lorna gently gave her the prayer leaf. "Thank you."

As Lorna made her exit, a faint rustling of clothes came from the corner. Amy's head snapped to Jaime as she whimpered in pain. The girl was now wide awake and tears streamed down her face.

Amy's heart shattered at the sight. It tore her apart, knowing there was nothing she could do to help. Motherly instincts kicked in as Jaime's tears became heavier. As light sobs began to slip from her mouth, Amy pushed herself onto the floor.

She gently reached out and grasped her side. Her eyes squeezed shut at her gasps of pain, Jaime's hand flying to cover her mouth. Amy took a shaky breath, letting it out when the young girl was resting on her lap, knees curled up to her chest.

Amy let her own tears fall and brought a hand up to stroke Jaime's hair as she clutched Amy's short sleeve, her head in the crook of her neck. "Shhh, it's okay," she whispered. "I know, I know, sweetie. He'll be here soon."

Her words faded as Jaime occasionally seized in pain, the words only bringing Amy more heartbreak. She settled for gentle humming as she softly rocked the trembling girl in her lap. Sniffing through the soft tune, Amy realized it became less for Jaime and more for herself.

*** * * ***

"On this day, in this place, the Doctor will fall," Colonel Manton continued his inspirational speech.

"Hurrah!" the soldiers shouted.

"The man who talks, the man who reasons, the man who lies will meet the perfect answer! Some of you have wondered why we have allied ourselves with the Headless Monks. Perhaps you should have wondered why we call them 'Headless'. It's time you knew what these guys have sacrificed for faith."

On cue, the three monks on the stage stepped forward, heads bowed slightly. Amy stood up from the floor, gently pushing a sleeping Jaime off her lap to look outside.

"As you all know, it is a level one heresy, punishable by death, to lower the hood of a Headless Monk. But by the divine grant of the Papal Mainframe herself, on this one and only occasion, I can show you the truth."

Colonel Manton reached up to the hood of one of the monks. "Because these guys never can be..." As the hood lowered, everyone saw that the monks truly were headless. The skin where their neck would be was tied off, like when you tie off a ballon.

"...Persuaded." Colonel Manton moved to the next monk. "They never can be..." That monk's hood went down, looking the same as the one before.

"... Afraid." Finally, Colonel Manton moved to the last monk on the stage. "And they can never ever be..."

Suddenly, the monk threw their hood off to show that they had a head. But it wasn't any man's head. It was the Doctor.

"...Surprised!" he finished for the Colonel.

Amy gasped. He finally came. She ran over to Jaime, gently shaking her. "Jaime! Jaime, he came! He's here."

The girl's eyes fluttered open. Her arms moved out to push herself up from her corner. Her energy vanished quickly as she fell back to the floor.

Amy was quick to wrap her arms around the fragile girl and lift her to her shaky feet. Jaime leaned against the window to watch as they heard the Doctor laugh.

"Hello everyone, guess who? Please, point a gun at me, if it helps you relax."

Everyone took that as their signal, cocking their guns as the rest of the Headless Monks drew out swords wielding red electricity. "You're only human."

*** * * ***

As two soldiers in the security camera room watched the Doctor's appearance, they quickly tried to signal the others. They were soon met by swords at their throats.

"Go on. Resist, I am ever so hungry," the Silurian woman, Madame Vastra hissed.

"Now, dear, which button controls the lights?" Jenny asked.

*** * * ***

Colonel Manton pointed a gun at the Doctor, still standing on the stage. "Doctor, you will come with me right now," he ordered.

The Doctor smirked. "Three minutes, forty seconds. Amelia Pond and Jemma Woods!" he shouted. The girls perked up at the window. "Get your coats!"

The Doctor swiftly flipped his hood up, the lights going out on cue. The crowd panicked, trying to find him in the dark. Suddenly, the lights turned on, but the Doctor was gone.

_"I'm_ _not_ _a_ _phantom_," his voice rang out. "_I'm_ _not_ _a_ _trickster_. _I'm_ _a_ _monk_._"_

"Doctor, show yourself," Colonel Manton ordered.

"It's him!" a soldier shouted, pointing his gun at one of the monks. "He's here!"

The other soldiers pointed their guns at the monk. The soldier who made the accusation promptly shot one of the monks dead. "Weapons down. Do not fire!" Colonel Manton ordered.

A monk looked at the man, immediately shooting a bolt of electricity at his chest. "No!" Manton shouted.

The monks started firing at the soldiers who tried to defend themselves, but failed. "Doctor!" Colonel Manton shouted in anger.

Back up top, Jaime's legs finally gave out, crumbling underneath her. Amy gently set her down on the floor and Jaime was pulled back under. She lifted her hand to her forehead to feel a fever coming on. They couldn't escape soon enough.

"Do not fire," Colonel Manton instructed the soldiers. "Nobody discharge their weapon in this room. Nobody."

Lorna Bucket looked to see a monk standing by an exit door. She knew it was the Doctor when he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, successfully opening the door.

She watched as he quickly went through the door. Lorna snuck through the crowd, following after him.

"Do not fire. Stop, wait. Listen to me. I'm disarming my weapon pack," Colonel Manton said, disarming his gun. "Monks, I do this in good faith. I am now unarmed," he said, putting his gun on the floor.

"All of you discharge your weapon packs. The Doctor is trying to make fools of us. We are soldiers of God. We are not fools. We are not fools."

One by one, each soldier disarmed their weapons, repeating the same line. "We are not fools."

*** * * ***

"Colonel Manton is regaining control," Madame Vastra said.

"Where has the Doctor gone?" Jenny asked.

*** * * ***

Lorna Bucket ran to find the Doctor, but not before almost tripping on heavy fabric. In the middle of the floor lay a Headless Monk's robes in a heap.

*** * * ***

Every soldier was chanting, "We are not fools," showing their weapon packs. The Headless Monks calmed down, no longer wielding their energy swords.

Suddenly, creatures starting appearing around them. On one side, hundreds of Silurians wielded guns at the army. Rhino looking aliens called Judoon came up behind them as more Silurians appeared. Colonel Manton turned when a short figure appeared beside him, wielding a weapon.

"This space is now under our command," the Sontaran, Strax said, pointing a large weapon at the Colonel.

"I have a fleet out there," Colonel Manton warned. "If Demon's Run goes down, there's an automatic distress call."

"_Not_ _if_ _we_ _knock_ _out_ _your_ _communications_ _array_," the Doctor's voice boasted. "And you've got incoming," he said from up above.

Another voice came over the intercom. "_Danny_ _boy_ _to_ _the_ _Doctor,_ _Danny_ _boy_ _to_ _the_ _Doctor_._"_

"Give 'em hell, Danny Boy."

The base started to shake as gunfire rains down. In a hidden hallway, Madame Kovarian stopped as the planes fired at them.

"I need to get off this station now," she said to the soldiers accompanying her. "Bring me the child. Leave the girl."

*** * * ***

_"Target_ _destroyed_," Danny boy announced over the intercom.

Colonel Manton looked down, defeated. "Don't slump, it's bad for your spine," Strax advised.

*** * * ***

Melody cried as the soldiers carried her in her cradle back to Madame Kovarian. "Get back in there with the rest of them. Remember, the Doctor must think he's winning right until the trap closes. I'll take my ship from here."

The soldiers left as Madame Kovarian waited for her lift to come. She turned to get Melody when a sword unsheathed, pointed at her neck.

"No," a firm voice said. It was Rory.

"I have a crew of twenty," she taunted. "How do you expect to gain control of my ship?"

Rory smirked. The lift doors opened as one of the soldiers was pushed out, rope tightly tied around him. Inside was Captain Henry Avery and his son, Toby. "The ship is ours, milady."

*** * * ***

Strax led Colonel Manton down to a control room where company was waiting for him. "All airlocks sealed. Resistance neutralized," Strax announced as they entered the room.

"Sorry, Colonel Manton, I lied," the Doctor said. "Three minutes, forty-_two_ seconds."

"Colonel Manton, you will give the order for your men to withdraw," Strax commanded.

"No," the Doctor interrupted. "Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men to run away."

"What?" Colonel Manton sneered.

"Those words, 'Run away'. I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you Colonel Runaway. I want children laughing outside your door cause they've found the house of Colonel Runaway," the Doctor growled. "And when people come to you and ask if trying to get to me through the people I love-"

Madame Vastra hissed softly, warning him for his tone. "...is in anyway a good idea," the Doctor spat quietly. "I want you to tell them your name. Look, I'm angry, that's new. I'm really not sure what's going to happen now."

"The anger of a good man is not a problem," Madame Kovarian said as she walked in. "Good men have too many rules."

The Doctor looked away for the Colonel to face the woman who started it all. "Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."

Madame Kovarian gulped. "Give the order. Give the order, Colonel Runaway," she hissed.

*** * * ***

Amy jumped out of her skin when a knock pounded on the door. Jaime jumped awake, too frightened to remember her pain. Amy grabbed a sort of stick to defend herself.

"Who's that? Who's there? You watch it, because I am armed and really dangerous and... cross."

"Yeah, like I don't know that," the voice spoke.

"Rory? Rory, is that you?"

The sound of the sonic screwdriver was heard from behind the door. "Yeah, it's me. Look, hang on a minute."

"They took her," Amy said sadly. "Rory, they took our baby away."

The door opened to reveal Rory in his Roman clothes, holding precious Melody. "Now, Mrs. Williams, that is never, ever going to happen."

Rory joined Amy as Jaime sat up as best as she could to see the sweet reunion. "What have they done to her?" Amy asked.

"She's fine. Amy, she's fine, I checked. She's beautiful," Rory whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. "Oh, God, I was gonna be cool. I wanted to be cool and look at me."

Amy laughed. "You're okay. A crying Roman with a baby. Definitely cool."

Jaime smiled fondly when they kissed. She smiled even wider when the Doctor walked in with a disgusted look. "Ew, kissing and crying. I'll... I'll be back in a bit."

"Oi, you," Rory stopped him. "Get in here, now."

The Doctor came in, standing beside Rory to see the baby. He smiled and pointed at her fondly. "Hello. Hello, uh... baby."

"Melody," Amy corrected.

"Melody? Hello, Melody Pond."

"Melody Williams," Rory corrected.

"Is a geography teacher. Melody Pond is a superhero," Amy declared.

The Doctor leaned closer to Amy, smelling her deeply. "Well, yes, I suppose she does smell nice. Never really sniffed a... maybe I should give it a go. Amelia Pond, come here."

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Sorry we were so long," he said before smelling her.

"It's okay. I knew you were coming. Both of you, my boys."

Melody let out a small, adorable noise. "It's okay. She's still all yours and really, you should call her Mummy. Not Big Milk Thing," the Doctor said.

Amy exchanged a look with Rory. "Okay, what are you doing?"

"I speak baby."

"No, you don't," Amy denied.

"I speak everything. Don't I, Melody Pond?" Melody cooed, making the Doctor fix his bowtie. "No, it's not. It's cool."

Amy laughed. Suddenly, a voice came from behind them. "Don't I get a welcome?" a timid voice spoke.

They turned around to see Jaime shakily standing on her feet. The Doctor kept his face straight when he saw just how awful she looked. How she kept herself standing was a miracle in itself.

He ran over to her as Rory handed Melody to Amy. The Doctor hugged Jaime as gently as possible. "I knew you'd come," she whispered.

"We should've been here sooner," he said sadly.

"No, no, don't beat yourself up because I took a little extra beating. I'm just glad you're here."

The Doctor smiled, but couldn't help feeling guilty. He wish he knew why they took Jaime and Amy away. Suddenly, Madame Vastra ran in. "Doctor, take a look. They're leaving. Demon's Run is ours without a drop of blood spilled."

The Doctor looked out the window to see the Silurians escorting the soldiers away. "My friend, you have never risen higher," Madame Vastra praised.

Jaime looked over at the table where Melody's cradle was before the soldiers took her away. In its place was the box that she was tortured over.

Each step sent up shooting pain as Jaime approached it. She picked up the box and opened it to see her mother's gift still inside. She looked up to see Madame Vastra giving her a strange look. She quickly shoved the box in her pocket. The Silurian stared, but didn't say a word.

Jaime was desperate to leave. She needed to be back in the TARDIS. The Doctor wrapped an arm around her to help her walk as they all went back to the TARDIS.


	24. A Good Man Goes to War (#2)

The Doctor was ecstatic to have his companions, plus one, back in the TARDIS. Amy held Melody as Rory got Jaime a light blue jumper that easily slid over her arms, keeping her frail body somewhat warm.

The TARDIS landed on the main floor of Demon's Run where the soldiers were just escorted away. The Doctor rummaged around for something as Rory helped Jaime out of the TARDIS. She leaned against the time machine, assuring him she was fine.

Amy then came out, trying to calm a crying Melody. "Hey, what's wrong?" Rory asked.

"She doesn't like the TARDIS noise. I asked him to turn something off, but it was all, _But_ _I_ _don't_ _want_ _to_ _punch_ _a_ _hole_ _in_ _the_ _space-time_ _continuum_."

Jenny came over with Strax by her side. "Rory, the Judoon have escorted the clerics out of the quadrant. Spitfires have returned to their own time. Captain Avery and his men are going... is she alright?" she asked, gazing at Melody.

"Yeah, she's just crying," Amy assured.

"Give her to me, humans fools, she needs changing," Strax ordered.

"I just changed her. I think she might need a feed."

"A feed?" Strax stepped forward, "Of course, I'll take care of everything."

Rory moved in front of Amy. "Uh, I really don't think you will, actually."

"I have gene-spliced myself for all nursing duties. I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid," Strax protested.

The Doctor then walked out of the TARDIS with a cot. "She's not hungry, she's tired. Sorry, Melody, they're just not listening."

"What's this?" Amy grinned as she looked at the old cot. Strange circular patterns were painted in gold and little planets hung above the bed.

"Very pretty, according to your daughter," the Doctor beamed.

"It's, uh... it's a cot," Rory said. Amy gently passed Melody over to the Doctor who laid her down. "But where would you get a cot?" Rory asked.

"It's old. _Really_ old," Amy observed. Jaime walked over as fast as she could without falling to the floor. "Doctor, um, do you have children?"

"No," the Doctor replied after a short silence.

"Have you ever had children?"

"No, no, it's real, it's my hair," the Doctor told Melody.

"Who slept in here?" Amy asked.

Vastra's voice came over the intercom. "_Doctor,_ _we_ _need_ _you_ _in_ _the_ _main_ _control_ _room_._"_

"Be right there," the Doctor spoke.

Jaime stood beside Amy who stared at the Doctor curiously. "Things to do. I've still got to work out what this base is for. We can't leave till we know," he said, walking away.

"Uh, but this is where we were. The whole time Jaime and I thought we were on the TARDIS, we were really here," Amy said.

"Ah, Centurion, permission to hug?" the Doctor asked.

"Be aware, I do have a sword."

"At all times," the Doctor saluted, hugging Amy. "You and Jaime were both on the TARDIS, your hearts and minds, souls. But physically, yes, you were still in this place."

"And when I saw that face looking through the hatch, that woman looking at me?"

"Reality bleeding through. They must've taken you quite a while back, just before America."

Rory stepped forward. "That's probably enough hugging now."

The Doctor nodded, letting Amy go. Jaime looked down at the floor with a defeated looking face. "When I got those burns, that was from when I was really here?"

The Doctor hugged her, Jaime not hesitating to wrap her arms around him. "It was, yes. They didn't take you as far back as they did with Amy. They must've taken you just before the Gangers. The same time your box disappeared."

Jaime stiffened at the mention of the box. "Why did it take them longer to get me?"

"I don't know. But I'll find out." Jaime nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. She just wanted this nightmare to be over. The Doctor let her go and walked over to the cot.

"So, their flesh avatars were with us all that time?" Rory asked. "But that means they were projecting a control signal right into the TARDIS, wherever we were in time and space."

"Yeah, they're very clever."

"Who are?" Amy asked.

"Whoever wants our baby," Rory spoke.

"Why did they want her and Jaime?"

"Exactly," the Doctor answered.

"Is there anything you're not telling us?" Rory asked. "You knew Amy and Jaime weren't real, you never said."

"Well, I couldn't be sure they weren't listening," the Doctor said simply, walking away.

"But you always hold out on us, please, not this time," Amy pleaded. "Doctor, it's our baby. And Jaime. Tell us something. One little thing."

"It's mine," the Doctor said.

"What is?"

"Cot. It's my cot. I slept in there."

The Doctor walked out as Amy examined the cot. "Oh, my God. It's the Doctor's first stars," she giggled at the poorly cut out stars.

Suddenly, Strax yelled out from behind them. "Drop your weapons! State your rank and intent." Amy, Rory, and Jaime turned to see Strax pushing Lorna Bucket over. "I found it listening at the door."

*** * * ***

The Doctor made his way into the main control room where Dorium was working at a computer, Madame Vastra behind him. "You've hacked into their software, then?"

"I believe I sold it to them."

"Ooh. So what have we learned?" the Doctor asked.

"That anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake," Madame Vastra advised.

"I'm sorry?"

"The words of an old friend, who once found me in the London Underground attempting to avenge my sisters on perfectly innocent tunnel diggers," she reminded.

"Well, you were very cross at the time."

"As you were today, old friend. Point taken, I hope." The Doctor nodded, turning to face a window.

"Now, I have a question. A simple one," Madame Vastra continued. "Are Melody and Jaime human?"

The Doctor whirled around. "Sorry, what?" he laughed. "Of course they are. Completely human. What are you talking about?"

"They've been scanning Melody, for example, since she was born," Dorium added. "And I think they found what they were looking for," he said, bringing up a photo of Melody's DNA.

"Human DNA," the Doctor observed.

"Look closer. Human plus," Vastra said. "Specifically, human plus Time Lord."

*** * * ***

"But I heard her talking. This is a trap," Lorna said determinedly. "Why would I lie to you?"

"Well, you might want to take a look at your uniform," Rory said snidely.

"The only reason I joined the clerics was so I could meet the Doctor again."

"You wanted to meet him so you joined an army to fight him?" Jenny asked in disbelief.

"Well, how else do you meet a great warrior?"

"He's not a warrior," Amy said.

"Then why is he called the Doctor?" Suddenly, lights starting to flash out, leaving them in the dark more and more. "It's starting. Please listen to me!" Lorna pleaded.

*** * * ***

"But she's human. She's Amy and Rory's daughter," the Doctor debated to Vastra.

"You've told me about your people. They became what they did through prolonged exposure to the time vortex. The Untempered Schism."

"Over billions of years. It didn't just _happen_," the Doctor said, pacing around the room.

"So, how close is she- could she even regenerate?"

"No! No... I don't think so."

"You don't sound so sure," Vastra said warily.

"Because I don't understand how this happened."

"Which leads me to ask, _when_ did it happen?" Vastra asked with wide eyes.

"When?"

Vastra scoffed. "I am trying to be delicate. I know how you can blush. When did this baby... begin?"

The Doctor's face dropped. "Oh, you mean..."

"Quite."

"Well, how would I know? That's all humany private stuff. It just sort of goes on. They don't put up a balloon or anything."

"Well, could the child have begun on the TARDIS, in flight, in the vortex?"

"No! No! Impossible. It's all running about, sexy fish vampires, and blowing up stuff. And Rory wasn't even there at the beginning. Then he was dead. Then he didn't exist. Then he was plastic. Then I had to reboot the whole universe. Long story. So, technically, the first time they were on the TARDIS together in this version of reality was on their..."

"On their what?"

The Doctor gulped. "On their wedding night."

*** * * ***

"Confirmed. No life forms registering on this base except us and the Silurians," Strax assured.

"The Headless Monks aren't alive," Lorna argued. "They don't register as life forms."

*** * * ***

"It doesn't make sense. You can't just cook yourself a Time Lord," the Doctor spoke anxiously.

"Of course not. But you gave them one hell of a start and they've been working very hard ever since. And what about Jaime? Could she be a Time Lord, too?" Madame Vastra asked.

"No! Amy found her on the street in 1897. Her family is gone, why do they want her?"

"Well, then what about the box?" Madame Vastra debated. "The little box that she was so keen to hide?"

The Doctor stopped. "What, her birthday gift? It was important to her, it was the last thing her mother gave her."

"But what was _inside_ the box?"

"How would I know? She refused to open it."

"It was a watch," Dorium answered, the computer opened showcasing a file all about Jaime. "A watch with quite peculiar markings on it."

The Doctor ran over to the computer to see if Dorium told the truth. Sure enough, there was a fob watch connected to Jaime. This fob watch had circular Gallifreyan written on it, showing it was owned by a Time Lord.

A fob watch from Gallifrey meant it was owned by a previous Time Lord. Time Lords could put themselves into a fob watch, rendering themselves human with no memories of their past lives if they were in danger or needed to hide.

Jemma is a Time Lady.

"What is it?" Madame Vastra asked anxiously.

"She's a Time Lady," he mumbled in shock. "T-That's why they took her. They tortured her because she's the only one who could open the watch," he realized.

"But they got Melody so far back. Why did it take them longer to get Jaime?" Madame Vastra asked, but the Doctor was in too much shock to answer.

"They could've been too busy to notice," Dorium answered. "And yet they gave in so easily. Does this not bother anyone else? This is too easy, something's wrong."

"Why even do it? Even if you could get your hands on a brand new Time Lord or a hidden one, what for?" the Doctor asked.

"A weapon?"

"Why would two Time Lords be a weapon?"

Madame Vastra sighed. "They've seen you."

"Me?" the Doctor muttered, deep in thought.

"Mr. Maldavar, you are right. This was too easy," Vastra agreed. "We should get back to the others."

"Me?" the Doctor said softly as Dorium and Madame Vastra left him alone. Suddenly, a voice spoke behind him.

_"I_ _see_ _you've_ _accessed_ _our_ _files,"_ Madame Kovarian said over a video monitor. "_Do_ _you_ _understand_ _yet?_ _Oh,_ _don't_ _worry_. _I'm_ _a_ _long_ _way_ _away_. _But_ _I_ _like_ _to_ _keep_ _tabs_ _on_ _you_. _The_ _girls,_ _then_. _What_ _do_ _you_ _think?"_

"What are they?"

"_Hope_. _Hope_ _in_ _this_ _endless,_ _bitter_ _war_._"_

"What war? Against who?"

"_Against_ _you,_ _Doctor_._"_

*** * * ***

Amy held Melody close as the ominous chanting of the Headless Monks rang out. Suddenly, a light beam surrounded the TARDIS. "What's that?" she asked.

Madame Vastra approached the TARDIS, sticking her hand out. It retracted as the light beam flashed, keeping her out. "Force field."

A loud thudding noise came from around them, echoing with the Monk's chants. "And those are the doors. _Locking_," Lorna spat in an I-told-you-so tone.

"Apparently, we're not leaving," Madame Vastra stated.

The chanting grew louder as the Monks came into view. "Is that the monks?" Rory asked.

"Oh, dear God!" Dorium cried. "That's the attack prayer."

Rory led Amy and Jaime away to find them protection. "Commander Strax," Vastra called.

"I'm trying to seal off this area of the lighting grid," Strax answered.

"This is where we'll make our stand," Vastra spoke. "Clear lines of sight on all approaches."

Rory hid Amy and Jaime behind piles of boxes, out of sight. "Rory, no offense to the others, but you'll let them all die first, okay?" Amy said.

"You're _so_ Scottish." Rory kissed Amy before softly kissing Melody's head. "Centurion, you're needed!" Madame Vastra called.

"There should be some plasma pistols somewhere. They left everything," Lorna said.

"Then find them, boy!" Stray ordered.

"She's definitely a girl," Vastra said.

"Oh, stop it!" Jenny teased.

"We don't have to fight them," Dorium said. "I'm friends to the monks. They know me."

"Yeah, and they know you just sold them out to the Doctor," Rory pointed out.

"Oh, they'll understand," Dorium brushed off. "It's only me. Only silly old me. You understand, don't you?"

Dorium marched into the darkness towards the chanting monks.

"Mr. Maldavar, get back here," Vastra cried.

"Arm yourself, fool," Strax said.

"Dorium!" The chanting grew louder and louder before the unmistakeable sound of a sword sliced through the air, something hitting the ground with a thud. "Mr. Maldavar?"

"Dorium?" Rory asked. Lights flashed to show Dorium's headless body, his neck tied off identical to a Headless Monk.

"The girls. At all costs, protect them," Vastra said as they all readied their weapons.

*** * * ***

"They are not weapons!" the Doctor shouted at Madame Kovarian.

"_Oh,_ _give_ _us_ _time_. _They_ _can_ _be_. _They_ _will_ _be_."

"Except you've already lost them, and I swear I will never let you anywhere near them again."

She laughed her malicious laugh. "_Oh,_ _Doctor,_ _fooling_ _you_ _once_ _was_ _a_ _joy_. _But_ _fooling_ _you_ _twice_ _the_ _same_ _way?_ _It's_ _a_ _privilege_._"_

The Doctor stared at her until his mind clicked. "Amy. Amy!" he cried, running from the room.

*** * * ***

Amy tried to comfort her baby as the guns fired, scaring poor Melody. Suddenly, the baby stopped crying when she saw Madame Kovarian look at her through a hatch that appeared out of thin air.

Jaime peered over the boxes to see the battle taking place. The Monks had their energy swords out, ready for the battle they were ever so willing to fight.

_Demons_ _run_ _when_ _a_ _good_ _man_ _goes_ _to_ _war_.

_Night_ _will_ _fall_ _and_ _drown_ _the_ _sun,_

_when_ _a_ _good_ _man_ _goes_ _to_ _war_.

_Friendship_ _dies_ _and_ _true_ _loves_ _lies,_

_night_ _will_ _fall_ _and_ _the_ _dark_ _will_ _rise,_

_when_ _a_ _good_ _man_ _goes_ _to_ _war_.

_Demons_ _run,_ _but_ _count_ _the_ _cost_.

_A_ _child_ _is_ _won,_ _but_ _the_ _other_ _is_ _lost_.

*** * * ***

"Amy!" the Doctor cried as he came to a door.

*** * * ***

Suddenly, Melody disappeared, leaving behind white liquid, undeniably from a Ganger. "Rory!" Amy screamed.

*** * * ***

"Amy, they're not real!" the Doctor shouted as he unlocked the door. "Jaime and Melody, they are Flesh avatars. Amy!"

The door opened as the Doctor witnessed the finished battle scene. The Headless Monks lay dead on the floor, the others looking defeated even though they finished the monks.

"Yeah. We know," Rory sneered.

Strax sat against a crate, breathing heavily as Rory went to his side. "It's strange. I have often dreamed of dying in combat. I'm not enjoying it as much as I had hoped."

"Come on, Strax," Rory encouraged. "Don't give up."

"It's alright. I've had a good life. I'm nearly twelve."

"Listen to me. You'll be back on your feet in no time. You're a warrior."

Strax sighed in aggravation. "Rory, I'm a nurse."

The Doctor looked over to see Jenny silently comforting a broken Amy. He looked down as he approached Amy, looking ashamed. "So they took her anyway. All this was for nothing," she cried.

"I am so... sorry." The Doctor approached her, but she backed away.

"Amy, it's not his fault," Jenny said kindly.

She shook her head. "I know. I know." She walked away before she could break down, Rory following her. The Doctor stared after them, feeling ashamed of himself.

"Doctor, they left Jaime," Jenny said.

He looked up to see Jaime propped against some crates by herself, looking to be in pain. He silently approached her, confused about why they left her behind.

The Doctor kneeled down in front of Jaime who looked up at him with big eyes. "I'm so sorry, Jaime."

"Why am I still here?" she interrupted. "Why didn't they take me like they did with Melody?"

He sighed. "They must've thought Melody was more important."

"But why did they take me in the first place?" she asked on the verge of tears.

"May I see the box?" the Doctor asked softly.

Her eyes widened as she thought about when he must've seen it. She hesitantly pulled it out of her large pocket, holding it out shakily. The Doctor picked it up and slowly lifted the lid. Inside was the fob watch, perfectly in tact.

"What is it?" she asked quietly. "They never told me."

"It's a fob watch. Have you ever opened it?"

Jaime shook her head quickly. "No, no, no. She wanted me to open it. She hurt me because I didn't open it," she murmured.

The Doctor reached forward to comfort her, but Jaime flinched away. His hearts dropped at her frightened look.

"Doctor, there's someone who wants to speak to you," Madame Vastra interrupted. "Her name is Lorna. She came to warn us."

The Doctor slowly got to his feet, gently handing the fob watch back to a cowering Jaime, folding her hands over it. He followed Madame Vastra over to a staircase that a fatally injured Lorna slumped against. The Doctor scanned her with the sonic, sighing when he realized it was too late to save her.

He looked up to see Lorna looking up at him fondly. "Doctor," she smiled.

He grinned back. "You helped my friends. Thank you."

"I met you once. In the Gamma Forests. You don't remember me," she said sadly.

"Hey, of course I remember. I remember everyone." He held her cheek as a tear ran down her face. "Hey. We ran. You and me. Didn't we run, Lorna?"

Lorna sighed out a breath, her head falling to the side as she passed. The Doctor looked up at Madame Vastra slowly. "Who was she?"

"I don't know, but she was very brave."

"They're always brave," he said sadly, standing to his feet.

"So, what now?" Vastra asked. "They'd almost certainly have taken her to Earth, raised her in the correct environment."

"Yes, they did. And it's already too late," he stated, walking away.

"You're giving up? You never do that," Vastra protested.

"Yeah, and don't you sometimes wish I did?"

A light flashed behind him before an all too cheerful voice rang out. "Well, then, soldier, how goes the day?"

The Doctor turned to see River Song standing in front of the TARDIS with a pleasant smile on her face. Amy and Rory stared at her as they were outraged that she just decided to turn up.

"Where the hell have you been?" the Doctor said angrily. "Every time you have asked, I have been there. Where the hell were you today?"

"I couldn't have prevented this."

"You could have tried," the Doctor growled.

"And so, my love, could you. I know you're not alright. But hold tight, Amy, because you're going to be."

"You think I wanted this?" the Doctor asked, "I didn't do this. This... this wasn't me!"

"This was exactly you. All this. All of it. You make them so afraid. When you began all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. Doctor. The word for 'healer' and 'wise man' throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean?"

River turned to walk around him. "To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word 'doctor' means 'mighty warrior'. How far you've come. And now they've taken a child. The child of your best friends. And they're going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you."

The Doctor gave her a curious look as his gaze hardened. "Who are you?"

River stared at him fondly before quickly backtracking. "Oh, look, your cot, haven't seen that in a very long while."

"No, no, you tell me. You tell me who you are."

River looked down at the cot and gently took his hand. "I am telling you. Can't you read?"

She set his hand on the cot, gesturing him to the circular Gallifreyan. Amy looked at the side to see that she still couldn't understand what was written. But the Doctor did.

He looked at River like it was his first time seeing her. He looked absolutely star struck. "Hello," he said.

"Hello," River smiled.

The Doctor giggled. "But that means..."

"I'm afraid it does."

He beamed, looking at a confused Amy, Rory, and Jaime. "Ooh. But you and I, we-we-we, uh..."

"Yes."

The Doctor laughed before straightening his clothes. "How do I look?"

"Amazing."

"I'd better be." "Yes, you'd better be."

"Vastra and Jenny, till the next time," the Doctor goodbyed. "Rory and Amy, I know where to find your daughter and on my _life_, she will be safe. River, get them all home."

The Doctor went to the TARDIS, sonicking the force field away from it. As he did, he swiftly picked up a stunned Jaime and carried her towards the TARDIS.

"Doctor?" Rory asked.

"Look, where are you going?" Amy said, running after him.

The Doctor grinned at River before carrying Jaime into the machine and flying off. Amy stared at the dematerializing TARDIS before glaring at River. "Where is he going? What did you tell him?"

"Amy, you have to stay calm," River said softly.

Ignoring her instructions, Amy picked up a gun, pointing it at River. "Tell me what you told the Doctor."

"Amy, no. Stop it," Rory said.

"It's okay, Rory. She's fine. She's good," River assured. "It's the TARDIS translation matrix. It takes a while to kick in with the written word. You have to concentrate."

Amy looked down at the Gallifreyan, but it didn't change. "I still can't read it," she said angrily. Rory quickly held her gun down before she could hurt someone.

"It's because it's Gallifreyan and doesn't translate. But this will," she said, picking up the prayer leaf Lorna made for Amy. River gently placed it in Amy's hand.

"It's your daughter's name in the language of the Forest."

"I know my daughter's name," Amy said rudely.

"Except they don't have a word for 'pond'. Because the only water in the Forest is the river. The Doctor will find your daughter and he will care for her, whatever it takes. And I know that."

Amy looked down at the prayer leaf to see her daughters name translated into River Song. Amy and Rory stared at her in complete shock.

"It's me. I'm Melody. I'm your daughter."


	25. An Explanation Would Suffice

Once the Doctor found out that River was the one and only daughter of Amy and Rory, he was shocked to say the least. Before the Ponds could find out, he proceeded to carry an unsuspecting Jaime into the TARDIS.

Her breathing became shallow as he sat her down on the jump seat in the console room. "Doctor, will you please tell me what is going on?" she asked eagerly.

The Doctor quickly flew the TARDIS away. "It would seem that the largest, most befuddling shock of the day comes to a tie between you and River, or as I should call her properly, Melody Pond, who just so happens to be part Time Lord," he rambled.

Jaime's eyes widened as he payed her reaction no mind. "And as mildly surprising as this all seems, we have something much bigger on our hands."

The young girl shakily stood up as the TARDIS slowed to a stop. "Wha-What could be more shocking than River somehow being Amy and Rory's daughter and a-a Time Lord?"

"Okay, she would be classified as a Time Lady, but that's just minor details. Besides, she's only _half_ Time Lady," the Doctor corrected. He whirled around to her, swiftly turning away from the console. "The bigger shock is you, Jemma. Having to do specifically with the fob watch your mum gave you."

"Do you know what it is?" she asked eagerly.

The Doctor looked down. She gulped at the look on his face. Whatever he knew wasn't going to be easy for him to say. Jaime's hand subconsciously went to her pocket, the watch weighing it down. The Doctor looked as if he was struggling to find the right words.

"A fob watch, yours in particular, is something very special from my people."

Jaime's eyebrows narrowed. "What, the Time Lords?"

He nodded. "The Time Lords developed this technology for er, protection. If a Time Lord ever needed to have their identity hidden from others, they could literally put themselves into a fob watch, such as yours. Leaving them an ordinary human with no memories of being a Time Lord."

Jaime scrunched her eyes shut, trying to understand what the Doctor was implying. "So... so this watch holds the, what, soul of a Time Lord?"

"A fob watch keeps them safe and hidden from anyone, even themselves. No one will ever know... until the Time Lord opens their watch."

Jaime opened her eyes, gazing up at the man before her in disbelief. "No," she whispered.

"Jaime, you're a Time Lord," the Doctor said quietly.

She shook her head. "No... I'm not. I'm Jemma Woods. I was born in America and moved to England when I was four years old. My mum is dead, I'm from Earth, and I'm a normal human being!" she panicked, stepping away from the Doctor.

He was visibly upset. "None of that was real, Jaime, your human life is made up to keep you hidden. You're a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey-"

"Located in the constellation of Kasterborous, yeah, yeah," she finished for him in a calm voice, rolling her eyes. She gasped, staring at the watch as her true Time Lord self peeked through.

"No, it can't be true! W-What about my mum, Melanie? I'm her daughter, this can't be made up!" Jaime cried.

"Melanie wasn't your real mum. Whoever made you human left you on Earth in a small home with a family that could take care of you. You left your life on Gallifrey and started a brand new one on Earth," the Doctor said, slowly walking towards her.

Jaime pulled the watch out of her pocket, staring at it intensely with a panicked look.

"Your memories of Gallifrey were taken away when you became human. Your Time Lord self is trapped inside that watch, waiting to come out again. Melanie must've known since she waited to give it to you."

Jaime looked up at him, gripping the watch with white knuckles. "If I open this, I'll become a Time Lord again? You won't be the last of the Time Lords anymore."

The Doctor smiled. "Two Time Lords in the TARDIS once again."

Jaime held the watch up, looking like she was about to open it. Suddenly, she froze as if remembering something horrible.

"She wanted this," she exhaled in horror, making eye contact with the Doctor. "Madame Kovarian, she wanted me to open this."

The Doctor looked at her sheepishly. "We don't know that-"

"Yes, we do!" she cried, her eyes watering. "That's why she took me. She found out that I was a Time Lord or _Lady_, and she wanted me for the same reason she wanted Melody. She wanted a Time Lord."

The Doctor gulped. "You were a backup plan in case Melody didn't work."

"She'll come for me. If she finds out that I am a fully restored Time Lord, she'll come to get me. She'll have a Time Lord to do whatever she wants if I open this! She... _tortured_ me to open the watch because they couldn't make me a Time Lord again!" she cried, her hand trembling as she held out the watch.

"No, no, no, she took Melody because a brand new Time Lord is better than one that's already developed. You have all the memories of being on Gallifrey and Melody doesn't. Madame Kovarian doesn't need you anymore, Time Lord or human."

Jaime shook her head, tears blurring her vision. The Doctor stepped forward as she openly cried, wrapping his hands around hers. "Jemma. I promise you that she will never come for you again. She got her way with Melody, but she won't be coming for you. Not anymore."

Jaime nodded, her grip loosening on the watch. "I trust you."

The Doctor smiled, backing away to give her some space. "You'll be here for me?" she asked timidly.

"Always," he guaranteed.

Jaime wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, still overwhelmed by the thought of everything. She gave the Doctor a wary look before squeezing her eyes shut.

His breath hitched when she opened the watch. Gold light streamed out, seemingly making its way into her. Her skin glowed a soft golden hue, but she didn't look as if she was regenerating. A few moments passed until the light vanished and Jaime gazed at the wall in shock.

She turned her head towards the Doctor, dropping the watch on the ground. She stared at the man with wide eyes and mouth agape. "Jaime?"

She took a step forward, but suddenly cried out, clutching her side. She fell to the ground, falling unconscious as the Doctor raced towards her.

*** * * ***

Her eyes fluttered open, blinking away the dreaded, bright light. It was a few hours since the Doctor had given her the news. Her head turned to see him zoning out in his seat by her bed.

She shifted her stiff body, making the sheets rustle. The Doctor's head shot up quicker than she expected, causing her to jump.

"Hello," he said hesitantly, but excitedly at the same time. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, surprisingly," she moaned, rubbing her face.

She was about to say something, but noticed she felt different. She felt like a different person, literally. She wasn't Jaime anymore. Her eyes widened and mouth dropped open. He jumped when the girl suddenly shot up straight, staring at him in shock.

She groaned, grasping her side where she was burned the most. She felt the Doctor sit down on her bed, holding her upper arms gently. "Hey, hey, it's okay. No need to be afraid, I'm right here," he comforted.

She stared at him in wonder, as if she couldn't believe she was seeing him. The Doctor grew nervous at the look she gave him. Did she know him when they were on Gallifrey?

"What do you remember?" he asked hesitantly.

"Everything," she breathed as she leaned against the wall by her bed. She gazed at the man in front of her, feeling like she hadn't felt in a number of years.

"I remember Gallifrey. I haven't been there in so long." She calmly reached out and took the Doctor's hand. He gladly grasped it.

"I remember you," she said with a small smile. "You weren't always home, but when you were, we had the best of times. You were the most important person in my life."

She seemed to choke on her next words. "I... I remember mum. Not Melanie Woods. My real mum. She was the last one I saw. She... was the one who made me human, sending me through that god awful chameleon arch," she cringed.

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked curiously.

She scoffed. "I'm certainly not Jaime anymore, that's for sure!" She threw back the covers on her bed, making the Doctor stand up. She sat up, throwing her legs over the side with a large smirk on her face.

"Oh, come on! I gave you plenty of hints. I know you know who I am."

All the Doctor could do was stare at her, no doubt feeling a sense of familiarity. She sat on the bed, ever so patient.

"We were together whenever you were home, you were the most important person in my life, mum made me human, the list goes on! Oh, and I've never regenerated. Take a guess."

The Doctor was drawing a blank. It's remarkable just how patient she was. She was so calm... impossibly calm. How could someone be so patient?

Her eyes were the same soft green as Jaime's, but they held a different look. They were hurting. Begging the Doctor to remember her. He'd seen that same look before, begging him to take her with him. Only one person made that look. "Ara?"

The young girl's face broke out into a large grin and she jumped to her feet as best as she could. "See, on your first try!" The poor Doctor was awestruck.

She is Aralyn. His daughter. Said to be the first one to die in the Time War. She quickly pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, the Doctor hesitating to return it. "A-Ara?"

"Of course, it is."

Coming out of his shock, the Doctor wrapped his arms around his daughter. The daughter he hasn't seen in a number of years. "I thought you were dead."

"What, like the rest of the Time Lords and Ladies? Not likely! Nothing will get rid of me that easily."

The Doctor laughed loudly, suddenly spinning her around. "It is you! My sweet, sweet Ara with that same spirit as before!"

She felt tears hitting her shoulder, triggering her own. "I've missed you so much, dad. I never thought I'd see you again."

The Doctor never thought he would experience a moment like this again. Ever since Gallifrey was lost, he knew he would never see his family, let alone a Time Lord ever again. You can imagine just how much his hearts filled with joy when he held his Aralyn once again.

Aralyn pulled away from the much needed hug, seeing tears running down the Doctor's face. She smiled warmly. "As much as I have missed these moments, we have a baby to find."

The Doctor laughed. "Still not one for dramatics," he said fondly, kissing her forehead.

*** * * ***

It had been a while since the Doctor had spoken to Amy and Rory. He knew they were worried about Melody, but he wasn't sure if there was anything he could do about it.

A while after the events of Demon's Run and Aralyn returning, a telephone in the TARDIS began to ring. The console room was empty, the ringing echoing throughout the seemingly vacant TARDIS.

A click rang out, signaling the answering machine. A recording of the Doctor was heard. "_Oh,_ _blimey!_ _Okay_. _You_ _can_ _probably_ _leave_ _a_ _message_ _at_ _the_ _tone_ _or_ _something_. _Sorry,_ _I_ _wasn't_ _really_ _trying_ _to_ _do_ _this,_ _I_ _was_ _looking_ _for_ _the_ _brakes!_ _"_

The machine beeped as the caller's voice spoke. "_Doctor?_ _Doctor,_ _can_ _you_ _hear_ _me?_" Amy Pond asked.

"_Are_ _you_ _ever_ _going_ _to_ _hear_ _this?_ _You_ _don't_ _even_ _know_ _you've_ _got_ _an_ _answerphone_," she laughed. "_How_ _can_ _you_ _be_ _so_ _clever_ _and_ _so_ _completely_ _stupid_ _at_ _the_ _same_ _time?_ _Or_ _if_ _you_ _can_ _hear_ _this,_ _please_ _just_ _pick_ _up_ _the_ _phone_. _Don't_ _get_ _confused,_ _I'm_ _not_ _invisible_ _or_ _trapped_ _in_ _a_ _space_ _bottle_ _or_ _something,_ _I'm_ _just_ _talking_ _on_ _the_ _answerphone_. _Just_ _pick_ _up_ _the_ _phone!"_

Amy sighed as no answer came. Who knew what the Doctor was doing.

"_You_ _said_ _you'd_ _find_ _my_ _baby_. _You_ _said_ _you'd_ _find_ _Melody_. _Have_ _you_ _found_ _her?_ _Because_ _you_ _promised_. _I_ _know_ _she's_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _okay_. _I_ _know_ _she'll_ _grow_ _up_ _to_ _be_ _River,_ _but_ _that's_ _not_ _the_ _point_. _I_ _don't_ _want_ _to_ _miss_ _all_ _this_ _year,_ _you_ _know,_ _I_... _I_ _can't_ _stand_ _it_. _Can't!_ _Please,_ _Doctor,_ _please_," she pleaded.

What Amy didn't know was that the Doctor was listening from the console. He listened intently as she rattled on about her child.

"_Okay_. _Phone_ _me_ _back_ _when_ _you_ _know_ _something_. _Please,_ _Doctor,_ _at_ _least_ _do_ _that_. _As_ _soon_ _as_ _you_ _know_. _Okay?_ _And_ _tell_ _Jaime_ _I_ _miss_ _her_. _Hope_ _she's_ _doing_ _okay_. _Alright,_ _bye_."

The answerphone beeped as Amy hung up. The Doctor sighed in exasperation, rubbing his face.

"Dad?" a small voice spoke from the top of the stairs. "Are you alright?"

The Doctor faked a smile up at Aralyn, standing in a light blue dressing gown. "I'm fine."

"Fine?" Aralyn asked, raising an eyebrow and coming down the stairs. "Not great, or splendid, superb, or fantastic?" The Doctor smiled as Aralyn stood beside him. "We'll find her. Don't worry about it." She wrapped her arms around him tightly, forcing him to reciprocate.

The Doctor chuckled, lifting her off the ground. He was ecstatic to have her back, but his hearts still ached at the thought of not finding Melody.


	26. Let's Kill Hitler (#1)

Amelia Pond knew the Doctor would find her baby. Granted, she didn't know how long it would take, but she knew he'd get it done. But when time flew by with no word from him, it was time to take matters into her own hands.

Out of all the ways to get the Doctor's attention, her and Rory didn't think racing the car around a corn field would be at the top of the list. "Okay, left, sharp turn," Amy directed from the small map she held.

The tires screeched as Rory turned the car in the direction Amy said to go. "Okay, right! No, no, no, I mean left! No, sorry, right, right. I definitely meant right!"

The little car drove around the corn field, mindlessly plowing down the tall grass and corn. "Now loop the loop." Amy gripped onto the dashboard as the car spun. "Stop. Stop!"

The car slammed to a halt right outside a large circle made by plowed over grass. Amy and Rory got out of the car when they saw the Doctor standing outside the TARDIS, holding a newspaper. He held up the front page that read Leadworth's Crop Circle. "Seriously?"

"Well, you never answer your phone," Rory replied.

"Okay, you've had all summer, have you found her? Have you found Melody?" Amy asked.

The Doctor approached his companions, handing Rory the newspaper. "Permission?"

"Granted."

With Rory's permission, the Doctor wrapped his arms around Amy. "You know who she grows up to be. So you know I will find her."

"But you haven't yet," Amy said, breaking away. She shook her head and cleared her throat. "How's Jaime?"

The Doctor frowned. "Er... she's good. A bit different."

"What do you mean different?" Amy asked with a wary look.

He looked nervous. "She's had a few, um, changes".

"What happened to her?" Amy questioned warningly.

Not answering her, the Doctor went to the TARDIS quickly and stuck his head inside. He popped out a moment later and stood off to the side. Seconds later, a familiar head of brown hair stepped out of the TARDIS.

Amy and Rory were shocked. Jaime looked healthier than ever and she was radiating confidence. The scared little girl was gone. She smiled widely in greeting. "Hey, guys."

Amy ran forward and wrapped her arms around her. "Jaime, you look so much better!" Aralyn frowned. This was the moment she had been dreading. Telling Amy and Rory that she was a Time Lady. She looked at the Doctor, warning him that it was the time to break the news.

"Amy, there's something you need to know. You too, Rory," she spoke.

Amy nodded seriously as Rory stepped forward. Aralyn took a deep breath, thinking about how to word it. "Here goes," she mumbled. "I'm a Time Lady."

Their eyes widened. "What?" Amy asked in a low voice.

Aralyn sighed before speaking in one breath. "The watch Melanie Woods gave me was from Gallifrey and it holds the soul of a Time Lord inside, making the Time Lord or Lady, a human with no memories of being a Time Lord and when that was done to me, I was dropped on Earth and became Jemma Woods with my life made new and I didn't remember being a Time Lady, so I became this girl who's scared of the dark and socially awkward. Only the person who's Time Lord self is trapped in a watch can open it which is why Madame Kovarian tortured me or Jemma, to open it. I or Jemma, opened the watch and I was restored as my Time Lady self who just so happens to be the Doctor's daughter, Aralyn and Jemma Woods doesn't exist... any questions?"

Aralyn forced herself to keep looking at the Ponds who held the best gaping faces. Rory dropped the newspaper in shock, staring at Aralyn with wide eyes. He kept opening and closing his eyes, trying to wrap his head around the new information.

"So, you're a... a Time Lord?" he asked cautiously.

"A Time Lady, thank you very much," Aralyn corrected.

"Wait, did you say you're his daughter?" Amy asked with a look of disbelief.

"She is. My daughter, Aralyn," the Doctor said, stepping forward.

"I mean, did you miss the rambling? Could only be genetic," Aralyn added.

"Wha- How can you be his daughter?"

"He had a family on Gallifrey. When we found out I was a Time Lady, we didn't know who it was. I opened it and it... just so happened to be me," Aralyn explained like it was the easiest thing to remember.

"Jaime is gone?" Amy asked with a sad look.

"She never existed actually," the Doctor said, receiving a glare from Amy.

"Hang on. What's this bit?" Aralyn asked, picking up the newspaper on the ground. She wanted to escape this moment as quickly as she could. The picture of the name written in corn had a solid line going through it into the circle where they were.

"That wasn't us," Amy said.

Aralyn handed it to the Doctor who looked at it curiously. Suddenly, the sound of a motor was heard from directly in front of them. The Doctor lowered the newspaper to see a bright red car coming right at them at full speed.

The four of them screamed, running out of the way as the car slid, narrowly missing the TARDIS. A girl with dark skin and black hair got out of the car, standing in front of the Doctor. "You said he was funny. You never said he was hot."

"Mels!" Rory scolded.

"What are you doing here?" Amy asked.

"Following you. What do you think?"

"Um, where did you get the car?" Rory asked.

"It's mine," she replied as sirens were heading towards them. "...ish," she finished with a laugh.

"Oh, Mels, not again," Amy sighed.

"You can't keep doing this, you're going to end up in prison," Rory scolded.

"Sorry," the Doctor interrupted. "Hello. Doctor not following this. Doctor very lost. You never said I was hot?"

"Is that the phone box?" Mels asked, pointing at the TARDIS. "The bigger on the inside phone box? Oh, time travel. That's just brilliant."

The Doctor gave her a strange look, wondering how she knew all of this. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you," she answered for him. "I'm their best mate."

"Then why don't I know you? I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were all brilliant. The men were a bit shy," the Doctor said.

"I don't do weddings."

The sirens got closer and Mels rolled her eyes. "And that's me. Out of time," she said, spinning around and pointing a gun at the Doctor.

"Mels! What are you doing?" Amy protested.

"I need out of here, now."

The Doctor raised his hands nervously. "Anywhere in particular?"

"Let's see, you're got a time machine, I've got a gun. What the hell? Let's kill Hitler."

*** * * ***

During a very bumpy ride in the TARDIS, Aralyn couldn't help but feel eyes burning into her skull. Usually when they were all in the TARDIS together, Jaime was the one who sat on the jump seat, holding on for dear life. But Aralyn was the one who helped the Doctor fly.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a gunshot rang through the air. Mels held her gun up, all of the eyes turning to her. "You shot it! You shot my TARDIS!" the Doctor shouted. "You shot the console!"

"It's your fault!" Mels protested.

"How is it my fault?"

"You said guns didn't work in this place. You said we were in a state of temporal grace!"

"That was a clever lie, smart one! Anyone can tell that was a clever lie!" Aralyn shouted.

"And who are you to say that, genius?" Mels retorted.

"I'm his daughter!"

Mels looked at the Doctor in surprise. "Well, don't you get around."

Suddenly, the TARDIS landed roughly, the console getting the worst of it as smoke filled the air. Everyone quickly covered their noses, the Doctor leading everyone out. "Out, out, out! Everybody out. Don't breathe in the smoke."

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

"A room. A long room," Rory coughed, as the Doctor quickly shut the TARDIS door.

"I don't know what room. I haven't memorized every room in the universe yet, I had yesterday off."

The Doctor turned to see Mels opening the TARDIS door again. "Mels! Don't go in there. Bad smoke. Don't breathe the bad, bad smoke. Bad, deadly smoke, because someone shot my TARDIS!" the Doctor closed the door, grabbing her gun before she could do more damage.

"Doctor, this guy, I think he's hurt." The Doctor, Aralyn and Mels turned to see a man in uniform laying on the floor. "Hang on. No, he's fine," Rory said.

The Doctor looked at the gun in disgust, sticking it in a fruit bowl on a desk. Suddenly, a man groaned, getting up from behind the desk. "Oh! Hello. Sorry, is this your office?" he asked. "Had a sort of collision with my vehicle. Fault's on both sides, let's say no more about... it."

Everyone froze when the man turned around. He was none other than Hitler. The Adolf Hitler. One of the evilest men in history. "What's up?" Amy asked nervously. "No, it can't be, Doctor," she whispered.

"Thank you, whoever you are. I think you just saved my life," Hitler said.

"Believe me, it was an accident."

Hitler turned away to see the TARDIS. "What is this thing?" he asked, walking up to it.

"What did he mean we just saved his life?" Amy asked. "We could not have just saved Hitler."

The Doctor cringed. "You see? Time travel. It never goes to plan," he told Mels.

"This box, what is it?" Hitler asked.

"Do you really wanna know?" Aralyn muttered.

The Doctor faced him with one of the scariest looks Amy had ever seen. "It's a police telephone box from London, England. That's right, Adolf. The British are coming."

Hitler's eyes widened, but he wasn't looking at the Doctor. "No, stop him!"

The Doctor turned to see the man that was on the floor standing up with a blank face. Hitler pulled out a gun, firing shots at him. When he didn't stop, Rory got up and punched Hitler in the face. Rory picked up the gun and pointed it at the Nazi. "Sit still. Shut up."

Amy ran to the man who was shot and shockingly standing up. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I think he missed."

"He was going to kill me," Hitler protested.

"Shut up, Hitler," Rory said.

"Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there, now, do it," the Doctor ordered.

"Right. Putting Hitler in the cupboard. Cupboard. Hitler, Hitler, cupboard. Come on," Rory said, leading him away.

"But I am the Führer!"

"Right, in you go," Rory said, pushing him into the cupboard.

"Who are you?" Hitler asked before being locked in.

The Doctor looked at the man who nearly got shot curiously. "Are you okay?"

The man's eyes widened before falling backwards, unconscious. "I think he just fainted," Rory said.

"Yes, that was a faint. Perfect faint."

"Mels?" Aralyn asked. Everyone looked over to see Mels clutching her stomach.

"Hitler..."

"What about him?" the Doctor asked.

"Lousy shot."

Suddenly, she collapsed on an elevated slab of wood. "Mels!"

"Right, we've got to stop the bleeding," Rory said.

"How bad is it, Rory? What can we do?" Amy asked.

"Just keep her conscious. Stay with us, Mels!"

"Hey, look at me," the Doctor said. "Just hold on."

Mels smiled. "I used to... dream about you. All those stories Amy used to tell me."

"What stories? Tell me what stories? Vampires in Venice?"

"When I was little, I was gonna marry you."

"Good idea, let's get married. You stay alive and I'll marry you. Deal? Deal?"

"Shouldn't you ask my parents' permission?"

"As soon as you're well, I'll get them on the phone."

"Might as well do it now. Since they're both right here."

That made everyone freeze. They shared glances as this made everything more confusing. "No way," Aralyn said.

Mels smirked. "Penny in the air."

Suddenly, her hands starting glowing an orangey golden hue. "Penny drops."

"What the hell is going on?" Rory demanded.

Aralyn shot up, pulling Amy away. "Back, back, back, get back!"

Mels stood up as her skin glowed. "Last time I did this, I... I ended up a toddler. In the middle of New York."

"Okay, Doctor, explain what is happening, please," Amy pleaded.

"Mels," the Doctor said. "Short for..."

"Melody," Mels answered.

"Yeah, I named my daughter after her," Amy said.

"You named your daughter... after your daughter."

"It took me years to find you two. I'm so glad I did. And you see? It all worked out in the end, didn't it? You got to raise me after all."

"You're Melody?" Amy confirmed.

"But if she's Melody, that means-" Rory started.

"Shut up, dad," Melody groaned. "I'm focusing on a dress size."

Suddenly, her arms shout out as she erupted into golden light. Aralyn looked away as Melody screamed. All of the sudden, the light stopped. Standing in Melody's place was River Song. She shook her shoulders, loosening herself up.

"Right. Let's see, then." She looked down, rubbing her hands on her hips. "Ooh, it's all going on down there, isn't it?" She reached up to her head. "The hair! It just doesn't stop, does it? Look at that. Everything changes. Oh, but I love it. I love it! I'm all sort of... mature."

Amy, Rory, Aralyn, and the Doctor all stared at her in confusion. They knew Melody was going to turn into River, but they weren't expecting this. She lifted her leg onto a turned over sofa. "Hello, Benjamin."

The Doctor slapped a hand over his eyes before removing it. "Who's Benjamin?" he whispered.

Aralyn shushed him as River clicked her teeth. "The teeth. The teeth. The teeth. Oh, look at them!" she exclaimed running over to the table, placing her hands on both sides of the Doctor. "Watch out, that bowtie. Excuse me, you lot. I need to weigh myself."

River pranced out of the room, leaving the others in a fluster. Amy, Aralyn, and Rory joined the Doctor on the desk, taking it all in. "That's Melody," Amy deadpanned.

"It's River Song," Rory realized.

"Who's River Song?" River asked as she poked her head in.

"Spoilers," the Doctor winced.

"Spoilers? What spoilers? Hang on, just something I have to check," she spoke, disappearing again.

"Does anybody else find this day just a bit difficult?" Rory asked. "I'm getting this sort of banging in my head."

"Yeah, that may be Hitler in the cupboard," Aralyn said.

"That's not helping."

The Doctor stood up. "This isn't the River Song we know yet. This is her right at the start. Doesn't even know her name."

"Oh, that's magnificent!" she shouted, running out. "I'm going to wear lots of jodhpurs. Well, now, enough of all that," she said, lifting a loaded gun at the Doctor. "Down to business."

"Oh, hello," he spoke. "I thought we were getting married?"

"I told you, I'm not a wedding person."

"Doctor, what's she doing?" Rory asked.

"What she's programmed to."

"And where'd she get the gun?" Rory asked.

"Hello, Benjamin," the Doctor replied, remembering how she snatched the gun from the chair behind her.

"You noticed," she said before pulling the trigger. The gun only clicked.

Aralyn remembered how when Mels was regenerating into River, the Doctor ran to the gun on the chair and emptied it before she stopped regenerating.

"As soon as I knew you were coming, I tidied up a bit."

"I know you did," River said, throwing away the empty gun and reaching into her vest.

"I know you know." She pulled out what she thought was the gun that the Doctor put in the fruit bowl, but was actually a banana. "Goodness, is killing you going to take all day?"

The Doctor snatched the banana. "Why? You busy?"

"Oh, I'm not complaining."

She picked up a letter opener, but the Doctor sonicked it, knocking it out of her hand. "If you were in a hurry, you could have killed me in the cornfield."

"We'd only just met. I'm a psychopath, I'm not rude," she said, turning to the desk and picking up the gun. She turned to the Doctor and pulled the trigger, only to see him holding up the clip.

"You are not a psychopath," Amy denied. "Why would she be a psychopath?"

"Oh, mummy, mummy, pay attention. I was trained and conditioned for one purpose. I was born to kill the Doctor."

"Demon's Run," the Doctor explained. "Remember? This is what they were building. My bespoke psychopath."

"I'm all yours, sweetie," River said, pecking his lips.

"Only River Song gets to call me that."

"And who's River Song?"

"An old friend of mine."

"Stupid name." She turned to the broken window. "Look at that!" she exclaimed, standing on the window sill. "Berlin on the eve of war. A whole world about to tear itself apart. Now, that's my kind of town. Mum, dad, don't follow me. And yes, that is a warning."

"No warning for me, then?" the Doctor said.

"No need, my love. The deed is done. And so are you," she smiled deviously.

Suddenly, the Doctor clutched his chest where one of his hearts were. "What have you done?" he gasped, his companions running to hold him up. "River!"

"Oh, River, River, River. More than a friend, I think," she scoffed.

"What did you do?" Aralyn demanded as the Doctor collapsed.

"It was never going to be a gun for you, Doctor. The man of peace who understand every kind of warfare except, perhaps, the cruelest."

The Doctor reached for his mouth, remembering when River just kissed him. She used her lipstick. "Kiss, kiss," she smirked, falling out the window.

"What's wrong with you? What's she done to you?" Rory asked as Aralyn clutched onto her father's blazer.

"She poisoned him," Aralyn said, trying to be calm, but failing.

"I'm fine," the Doctor wheezed as she gave him a look. "Well, no. I'm dying. But I've got a plan."

"What plan?" Amy asked.

"Not dying, see? Fine."

The Doctor groaned as Amy and Rory helped Aralyn stand the Doctor up. "Okay, what do we do? How do we help you?" Rory asked.

The Doctor handed Amy his sonic screwdriver. "Take this. The TARDIS can override it. Now, go, get after her," he said, pushing Rory to the window as Aralyn and Amy helped him stand.

Rory looked out the window to see River on the street, walking towards a group of Nazi's. As River approached them, they ran up and pointed their guns at her. "Hello, boys," she smiled.

"You said the smoke was deadly," Amy said as she helped the Doctor towards the TARDIS.

"No, the smoke's fine, the poison will kill me first. Now, get after River-"

"I don't understand, okay? One minute she's going to marry you, and then she's going to kill you."

"Ah, well, she's been brainwashed, it all makes sense. Plus, she's a woman. Oh, shut up, I'm dying." The Doctor quickly opened the door, letting himself into the TARDIS. Aralyn went to follow him.

"Go get her, we don't want her to escape," she told Amy.

"Well, what about you, aren't you coming with us?" Amy asked.

"What, and leave him while he's dying? No thanks," she said, ignoring Amy's look as she let herself in the TARDIS.

"Extractor fans on!" the Doctor shouted. The smoke cleared out as the fans turned on. "Oh, that worked!"

*** * * ***

"What are you doing here?" one of the men asked River.

"Well, I was on my way to this gay gypsy Bar Mitzvah for the disabled, when I suddenly thought, 'Gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish. I think I'll kill the Führer'. Who's with me?"

"Shoot her," the man ordered.

Rory watched in horror as the men shot their machine guns at his daughter. River shot up with a grin, not one bullet damaging her. "Tip for you all. Never shoot a girl while she's regenerating."

Orangey gold light shot out of River, knocking all of the men down. She laughed maniacally as the light disappeared. "Now, that hit the spot," she said, taking two of the men's guns.

She climbed onto a motorbike as Amy and Rory ran towards her. "Thanks, boys. Ha! Call me."

"What are you doing?" Amy asked.

"New body, new town... I'm going shopping," she said before racing away.

Suddenly, a man on another motorbike came up behind them. He stopped his vehicle, looking at Amy and Rory curiously.

"Look, I know how this looks," Rory said as the man stood up. "Let me explain everything from the beginning." Rory looked at Amy before raising his arm. "Heil! "

"Heil! " the man copied.

Rory took his chance and punched the man, knocking him down. Rory jumped onto the motorbike as Amy stared at him. "Come on!" Amy climbed on and wrapped her arms around him. "Can you ride a motorbike?"

"I expect so. It's that sort of day," Rory replied before going after River.

*** * * ***

The Doctor collapsed to the floor just by the console. Aralyn panicked, kneeling down beside him. "Dad? Dad, can you hear me? Oh God, I don't know what to do. What do I do?"

"Shut it down. I need an interface," the Doctor said, leaning against the railing. "Voice interface, come on, emergency."

A hologram of the Doctor appeared. "Voice interface enabled."

"No, no, no, give me someone I like!" The hologram changed into one of the Doctor's previous companions, Rose Tyler. "Oh, thanks! Give me guilt." The hologram changed to Martha Jones. "Also guilt."

Then the hologram switched to Donna Noble. "More guilt," he groaned as Aralyn tried to steady him. "Come on! There must be someone left in the universe I haven't screw up yet."

"Don't you dare think like that," Aralyn scolded.

"Voice interface enabled," a small voice spoke.

The Doctor and Aralyn looked up to see young Amelia Pond. "Oh! Amelia Pond!" the Doctor marveled. "Before I got it all wrong. My sweet little Amelia."

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface," she said in a monotone voice.

"Hey, let's run away and have adventures. Come along, Pond," he smiled.

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface."

"You are so Scottish," he mumbled. "How am I doing?"

"Your system has been contaminated by the poison of the Judas Tree. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"Okay, so, basically better regenerate. That's what you're saying?"

"Regeneration disabled. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"What?!" Aralyn shouted.

"Unless I'm cured, yeah?" he asked the interface hopefully.

"There is no cure. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"Oh, why do you keep saying that?" Aralyn growled.

"Because he will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"There you go again. Basically skipping thirty one whole minutes when I'm absolutely fine. It's Scottish, that's all I'm saying."

"You will be fine for thirty-one minutes. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"Scotland's never conquered anywhere, you know. Not even a Shetland. River needs me. She's only just beginning, I can't die now."

"You will not die now. You will die in thirty-two minutes."

"I'm going out in the first round. Ringing any bells?" the Doctor cried out in pain, dropping onto the floor. "Need something for the pain now," he calmly told the interface. "Come on, Amelia. It's me. Please."

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface."

"Amelia, listen to me. I can be brave for you. But you have got to tell me how."

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface."

"Amelia... please," the Doctor spoke softly, eyes closing.

Aralyn's grip on his blazer tightened. "No, no, no, no. Hey, come on. We still got time, come on," she said, trying to be strong.

"Fish fingers and custard."

The Doctor opened his eye wide. "What did you say? Fish fingers and custard?" he laughed. "Ah! Amelia Pond. Fish...fingers.. and custard!" he said as Aralyn helped him to his feet. "Fish fingers and custard!" he shouted as the TARDIS took off.

*** * * ***

After losing River on the motorbikes, Rory and Amy stopped just outside of a hotel. "Okay, all of Berlin, how do we find her?" Rory asked in exasperation.

"I don't know. Look for clues," Amy said.

"Clues? What kind of clues?" Rory mocked her Scottish accent.

"Shut up!"

Suddenly, people ran out of the hotel in a large mob. They were all screaming and none of them had any clothes on besides their undergarments. "Okay..." Suddenly, a motorbike pulled up beside Amy and Rory.

But the driver was Amy. The Amy on the motorbike held a blank look, robotically turning her head to the real Amy.


	27. Let's Kill Hitler (#2)

River laughed at herself in the newly abandoned dining hall of the hotel. Clothes lay around her as she tried them all on while examining herself in a large, stand up mirror. "Look at that. Now, that's fun! From every angle."

Suddenly, Amy ran inside. She stopped when the doors closed, a blank look on her face. "Now, dear, I told you not to follow me," River reminded as she threw on a navy blue uniform. "I might take the age down a little. Just gradually, to freak people out."

"You killed the Doctor," Amy said.

"Oh, yes, I know, dear. Hope you're not going to keep on about it," she said as she put the hat on to match the uniform. "Oh! Regeneration. It's a whole new coloring to work with."

Amy moved to face her as River took off the hat. "You killed the Doctor. On the orders of the movement known as the Silence and Academy of the Question. You accept and know this to be true."

"Quite honestly, I don't really remember. It was all a bit of a jumble."

Suddenly, Amy pushed the large mirror onto the floor. She opened her mouth and a blue beam came out, streaming onto River's face. River cried out as the beam didn't move from her face. "No, no! Get off me!"

"Sorry, but did you say she killed the Doctor?" a young voice spoke.

The beam was cut off as Amy turned around. The Doctor and Aralyn leaned against the TARDIS, the Doctor wearing a suit with a topcoat and cane. "The Doctor?" he asked. "Doctor who?"

"You're dying," River gasped in disbelief. "And you stopped to change?"

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, you should always waste time when you don't have any," he said, swinging his cane and twirling Aralyn around.

"Time is not the boss of you! Rule 408. Amelia Pond, judgement death machine," the Doctor said, turning to Amy. "Why am I not surprised?" The top of his cane opened to reveal the top of a sonic screwdriver. "Sonic cane."

"Are you serious?" River asked incredulously.

"Never knowingly. Never knowingly be serious," he said, sonicking Amy.

"Rule twenty seven. You'll want to write these down," Aralyn said.

"Oh, it's a robot! With 423 life signs inside, a robot worked by tiny people. Love it! But how did you all get in there, though? Bigger on the inside?" the Doctor wondered, looking at the sonic. "No. Basic miniaturization sustained by a compression field. Ooh! Watch what you eat. It'll get you every time. Amy, if you and Rory are okay, signal me."

A few seconds later, the Doctor felt the sonic he gave them signal his cane. "Thanking you."

Suddenly, he cried out in pain and fell to the ground. "So sorry. Leg went to sleep. Just had a quick left leg power nap. I forgot I had one scheduled. Actually, better sit down. I think I heard the right one yawning."

The Doctor sat on the stairs, Aralyn standing beside him. River went to make a run for it when the robot Amy stopped her with the same blue beam. "Don't you touch her! Do not harm her in any way!"

The beam disappeared, but a light blue field of light surrounded River. "Why would you care? She's the woman who kills you," robot Amy said.

The Doctor took off his hat with a grin. "I'm not dead."

"You're dying," robot Amy deadpanned.

"Well, at least I'm not a time traveling, shape-shifting robot operated by miniaturized cross people which I have got to admit I didn't see coming. What do you want with her?" he asked, pointing at River.

"She's Melody Pond. According to our records, the woman who kills the Doctor."

"And he's the Doctor, what's it go to do with you?" Aralyn asked rudely.

"Throughout history, many criminals have gone unpunished in their lifetimes. Time travel has... responsibilities."

The Doctor laughed. "What? You got yourselves time travel, so you decided to punish dead people?"

"We don't kill them. We extract them near the end of their established time lines."

"Then what?"

"Give them hell."

The Doctor's smile disappeared. "I'd ask you who you think you are, but I think the answer is pretty obvious. So who do you think I am? Huh? The woman who killed the Doctor," he pointed to River. "It sounds like you've got my biography in there. I'd love a peek."

"Our records office is sealed to the public. Foreknowledge is dangerous."

"Yeah, well, I'll be dead in three minutes. There isn't much foreknowledge left."

"Sorry, can't do that."

A few seconds later, the people in the robot seemed to change their mind. "Records available."

The Doctor painfully stood up, leaning on his cane, signaling Aralyn to stay back, not wanting help. "Question. I'm dying. Who wants me dead?"

"The Silence."

"What is the Silence? Why is it called that? What, what does it mean?"

"The Silence is not a species. It is a religious order or movement. Their core belief is that silence will fall when the question is asked."

"What question?"

"The first question. The oldest question in the universe. Hidden in plain sight."

"Yes, but what is the question?"

"...unknown."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, well, fat load of use that is, you big ginge. You call yourselves the records-" Suddenly, he fell, clutching his side. "Kidneys are always the first to quit. Ah, I've had better, you know."

Aralyn kneeled down in front of him. "What can I do? Huh? There must be something I can do."

Before the Doctor could answer, the light around River turned red. She cried out in pain, but couldn't escape the light. "Amy, Rory... Amy, can you hear me?" he strained to say.

"What do we do?" the robot asked. "This is me. This is me actually talking. What do we do?"

"Just stop them. She's your daughter, you can stop them!" Aralyn cried.

"How, how? How?"

"Just do it!" A few painful seconds later, River was released, dropping to the ground.

"Please. Now, we have to save your parents," he said as River stood up. "Don't run. I know you're scared. But never run when you're scared. Rule seven. Please."

The Doctor collapsed, eyes shut. Aralyn let out a shaky breath. "No, no, no. Don't you dare! Come on, wake up!"

"Doctor? Doctor, can you hear us?" robot Amy asked. "Doctor, help us! Doctor, please!"

His eyes opened much to Aralyn's relief. She helped the Doctor stand, but she was struggling since all of his weight was on her. River sat in a chair, amazed by the Doctor's strength. "Doctor. Help!" Amy cried.

The Doctor collapsed on the stairs, Aralyn's strength failing. She helped him try to crawl up the steps. "I can fly the TARDIS to Amy and Rory. I can save them," Aralyn said.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're not ready to fly it by yourself," he groaned as he laid on the steps.

"Look at you. You still care," River said.

"Doctor, help us! Please, help us!"

"It's impressive, I'll give you that," River marveled.

"River, please," the Doctor moaned as he reached for the TARDIS.

"Again! Who is this River? She's got to be a woman. Am I right?"

Aralyn glared. "Do you really think it's a good moment to waste time? He's dying incase you haven't noticed!"

River ignored her and continued to look at the Doctor. "Tell me about her. Go on."

Aralyn growled. "He doesn't exactly have the time!"

*** * * ***

Amy and Rory were the only ones left in the robot known as the Tesselecta. All of the other people had vanished. Creatures known as Anti-bodies were after them, saying they weren't authorized and had to die. They came to a panel which wouldn't open. They turned to see the Anti-bodies closing in on them.

"You are unauthorized. Your death will now be implemented. You are unauthorized. Your death will now be implemented."

Amy turned to her husband. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Rory hugged his wife tightly as the creatures grew close and closer. Suddenly, the sound of the TARDIS engines were heard. Amy looked up to see the TARDIS materialize around them. They were safe from the Anti-bodies.

"Doctor? Doctor, you did it. You did it!" Amy laughed.

A figure stepped out from behind the console. It was River Song. "I seem to be able to fly her. She showed me how. She taught me. The Doctor says I am the child of the TARDIS. What does he mean?"

Amy's face dropped. "Where is he?"

*** * * ***

After River left in the TARDIS, Aralyn tried her best to make the Doctor comfortable. She laid him down on the steps since he refused to move otherwise. His face was pale and his breathing ragged. Aralyn had been refusing to believe it and she wasn't going to believe it now. "Ara..." he spoke softly.

She perked up, holding his hand. "What is it?"

"When this is all over, you can live with Amy and Rory."

"What?"

"They will take good care of you, you know that."

Aralyn shook her head. "No, don't say that. You'll get better and then we'll be back in the TARDIS. You, me, Amy and Rory again. Just like it's been."

The Doctor chuckled. "I'm dying, Ara."

"No, you're not," she fought. "I just got back to you, you're not leaving me."

Suddenly, the TARDIS was heard before materializing in the same place as before. Aralyn didn't move as Amy, Rory, and River all came out. The Ponds ran over, Amy grabbing the Doctor's other hand as River watched from afar.

"You can't die now. I know you don't die now," Amy said.

"Oh, Pond. You've got a schedule for everything."

Amy frowned. "But it doesn't, it doesn't make any sense."

"Doctor, what do we do? Come on," Rory encouraged. "How do we help you?"

The Doctor smiled. "Sorry, Rory, you can't. Nobody can. The most you can do is take Ara home with you. Do that for me." Aralyn looked down as tears began to fall. "Ponds, listen to me. I need to talk to your daughter."

Amy nodded. Her and Rory stood up, walking towards River as Aralyn solemnly joined them. River kneeled beside the Doctor with a look of guilt on her face. "Find her," the Doctor said. "Find River Song. And tell her something from me."

"Tell her what?" River leaned down as the Doctor whispered in her ear. She gasped. "Well, I'm sure she knows."

She leaned back to see the Doctor's eyes closed for good. The Doctor was dead. As River stood up, Aralyn knew it was over. She couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She looked up at River with the scariest look Amy and Rory had ever seen on her.

"Look what you did," she growled, fists clenching. River faced her with a deep look of guilt. "How could you do that? You killed him!" she shouted. Aralyn sprinted towards River to only be stopped by Rory's grip. "Why did you do it? How can you live with yourself knowing you did such an awful thing? You're a monster!"

"Jaime, calm down. Jaime," Rory spoke, trying to calm her down.

"I just got back to him! The first time in who knows how many years, I find my dad and you take him from me just like that!" Tears flowed down her face as she thought of all the ways she could murder River.

"Jaime, you need to calm down," Rory pleaded.

She only kicked her legs out, flailing to escape Rory's grip. He knew he'd have to say something else to get her to stop. "Aralyn!"

She froze. The girl stopped thrashing around, the whole weight of everything hit her. She hung her head as tears stung her face. Rory realized she wasn't going to escape and pulled her into his chest. Aralyn turned and cried into his chest, wrapping her arms around him.

Amy was sad, but she was upset for Aralyn. It was all confusing about how she was actually the Doctor's Time Lady daughter and Jaime wasn't a real person. But she knew Aralyn remembered everything that happened when she was Jaime. To Amy, she knew Jaime was still in there.

Amy turned to the robot version of her. "Are you still working? Because I'm still a relative. Access files on River Song."

"Records available."

"Show me her," Amy ordered. "Show me River Song."

The robot changed to the River they all knew and loved. River looked at the robot, everything becoming crystal clear. She looked at the dead Doctor with tears in her eyes.

"Melody," Amy said softly. "What did he say? The Doctor gave you a message for River Song. What was it?"

River approached the Doctor as her hands glowed the same orange color as when she regenerated. "What's happening? River, what are you doing?" Amy asked as Aralyn poked her head out from Rory's chest to watch.

"Just tell me. The Doctor... is he worth it?"

"Yes! Yes, mhmm, he is," Amy agreed.

Aralyn watched as River held her glowing hands up to the Doctor, giving him life. He gasped awake. "River? No... what are you doing?" he whispered.

"Hello, sweetie."

*** * * ***

When River Song woke up, the first thing she saw were her parents leaning over her. Amy smiled when her daughter's eyes opened. "Hey."

"Hey," River replied. "Where am I?"

"You're safe now. Apparently, you used all your remaining regenerating in one go. You shouldn't have done that," Amy scolded lightly.

"Mother, I had to try."

"I know."

"He said no one could save him. But he must have known I could. Or his daughter."

"Rule one," Aralyn spoke. "the Doctor lies."

River looked up to see Aralyn and the Doctor leaning against the wall by her bed. Aralyn looked sheepish. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you."

River smiled. "It's my fault. I should've known better for tearing a daughter from her father."

She soon fell asleep, and a nurse came in. "She just needs rest. She'll be absolutely fine."

"No... she won't," the Doctor said. "She will be... amazing."

He set a blue journal beside her bed, a red ribbon tied around it. It was the journal that River always had wherever she went, writing down what happened incase her and the Doctor met out of order.

*** * * ***

The Doctor and Aralyn took the Ponds back to the TARDIS. Without saying a word, the Doctor prepared for takeoff. "So that's it? We just leave her there?" Amy asked.

"Sisters of the Infinite Schism, greatest hospital in the universe," the Doctor reminded.

"Yeah, but she's our daughter. Doctor, she's River, and she's our daughter."

"Amy, I know. But we have to let her make her own way now. We have too much foreknowledge, it's... dangerous thing, foreknowledge," he replied, looking at a screen.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"Nothing!" he said, quickly making whatever he saw disappear. "Just some data I downloaded from the Tesselecta, very boring."

Aralyn scoffed from her seat on the stairs, picking at her nails. "Not suspicious at all," she muttered.

"Doctor, River was brainwashed to kill you, right?" Rory asked.

"Well, she did kill me and then she used her remaining lives to bring me back. As first dates go, I'd say that was mixed signals."

"But that stuff that they put in her head," Rory continued. "Is that gone now? The River that we know in the future, she is in prison for murder."

"Whose murder?" Amy asked.

The Doctor smiled before running to the other side of the console. Rory sighed and Amy smiled. "Will we see her again?" Amy asked.

"Oh, she'll come looking for us," the Doctor said, making Aralyn move as he ran up the stairs she sat on.

"Yeah, but how? How do people even look for you?"

"Oh, Pond. Haven't you figured that one out yet?"

*** * * ***

Aralyn was pleased she had all of her memories from when she was Jaime. It made her see just how different they were. Even though they were technically the same person, their personalities weren't similar.

Jaime was shy while Aralyn couldn't care less about what people thought. Jaime cried easily while Aralyn only cried if something devastating happened, the Doctor's eminent death included. Jaime was seventeen while Aralyn definitely looked too young for her age.

The hardest part was getting Amy and Rory to accept the change. They thought Jaime would always be the shy girl without a family who they had practically adopted. And just like that, she was gone.

She was replaced by a sassy and sarcastic Time Lady, who just so happens to be the Doctor's daughter. It would definitely take some getting used to, but Aralyn wished the process would speed up, seeing how it was starting out incredibly slow.

"Ah, there you are! I should've known you'd be hiding in the library."

Aralyn turned her head to see the Doctor walk in with a grin on his face. "Just clearing my head is all," she replied.

He took a seat next to her on the sofa in front of the large fireplace. "Is that really all you're doing?"

Aralyn knew she wasn't convincing, but she smiled wider. "Yep. Just having a little think-think with myself."

He shook his head, giving her a look that said he knew she was lying. Aralyn sighed. "Okay. You caught me, happy now?"

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I miss home," she whispered, looking straight ahead into the fiery blaze. "I'd give anything to be back."

The Doctor wrapped an arm around her, Aralyn not hesitating to lean on his shoulder. "I miss it, too. As much as I would like to know that Gallifrey is still there, I'm glad that you are here. You are my piece of Gallifrey. Ever since the rest of the Time Lords were lost, I never thought I would get someone back."

Aralyn smiled. "I've been by your side for the last year. You just thought it was someone else."

The Doctor smiled, pulling her closer to him. "You said it was your mother who put you through the Chameleon Arch. She made you human."

Aralyn sighed. "Yeah, she did. I was so young at the time, I didn't really know what was going on. Whenever you were gone on some adventure in the TARDIS, she would worry. She'd be so stressed out that she... she had a habit of taking it out on me. Nothing physical, just... yelling."

The Doctor stiffened. How had all of that gone on and he'd never known? "I'm so sorry, Ara."

She scoffed. "It's fine. We didn't always get along. The last thing I remember on Gallifrey was right when the Time War was breaking out. Mum must've thought it was too dangerous for me or this was her chance to get rid of me and make it look like an accident. She made me human and I guess dropped me off on earth with Melanie Woods," Aralyn finished, pulling her knees to her chest.

"I should've been home," the Doctor said.

"Oh no, don't you start beating yourself up. If mum hadn't done what she did, I wouldn't be here now."

The Doctor nodded, but still couldn't help feeling guilty. The two Time Lords watched the fire, relaxing for the first time in a while. They didn't know how long it had been since they stopped rushing around.


	28. Night Terrors

It was an ordinary day on the TARDIS, as normal as it gets when you travel with the Doctor. Aralyn had been hanging out with Amy and Rory more to get them used to her. She hoped it wasn't too painful for them to see Jaime when it was really Aralyn.

They all stood at the console, Amy and Rory drinking tea while the Doctor piloted the TARDIS. Aralyn stood beside him, watching his every move. She knew she'd have to be the perfect pilot if she ever wanted to fly the TARDIS again.

Suddenly, the Doctor reach into his blazer pocket, pulling out his psychic paper. _"Please save me from the monsters,"_ he read. He jumped back to the console, flying the TARDIS away from their position. "Haven't done this in a while."

"Um, done what? What are you doing?" Amy asked.

"Making a house call."

*** * * ***

Rory was the first one out of the TARDIS, Amy following him. While the Doctor and Aralyn stayed inside for a second, the two companions got a good look of the place where the message came from. They weren't thrilled to say the least. "No offense, Doctor..." Rory began as the Doctor and Aralyn left the TARDIS.

"Meaning the opposite," Aralyn guessed.

"But we could get a bus somewhere like this," Rory finished.

"The exact opposite," Aralyn concluded.

"Well, I suppose it can't all be planets and history and stuff, Rory," Amy said in annoyance.

"Yes, it can. Course it can. Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do. But not today, no," the Doctor said as they all approached the large building. "Today we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the universe. A child's bedroom."

Aralyn groaned as she looked up at the building with many floors, each housing multiple flats. This was going to be a long night.

*** * * ***

The Doctor examined his psychic paper as the four of them waited for the lift. _"Please save me from the monsters,"_ Rory read. "Who sent that?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

"Sounds like something a kid would say," Amy thought out loud.

"Exactly. A scared kid. A very scared kid. So scared that somehow his cry for help got through to us in the TARDIS."

"Yeah, but you've traced it here," she reminded.

"Exactly. Ah, going up," the Doctor said, stepping into the lift. They decided it was best to split up, seeing as how many flats there were. Aralyn sighed and headed for a random door.

*** * * ***

Amy Pond knocked on the door of the first flat she chose to investigate. A little girl with blonde hair answered the door. "Hi!" Amy greeted enthusiastically. "Are your mummy and daddy in or is it just you?"

The door opened wider to reveal the little girl's identical twin. "Okay," she breathed nervously.

Suddenly, a tall blonde woman opened the door wider. "Can I help you?" she asked rudely.

"Hi. Um, yeah, no, sorry, I was just wondering if you've had any bother around here?"

"Bother? What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean-"

"He didn't send you, did he?" the woman sneered.

"Who?" When Amy didn't answer properly, the woman glared, slamming the door in her face.

*** * * ***

The Doctor knocked on a door on a different floor than Amy. A short, grumpy looking old woman answered the door with a wary look. "Hello," he greeted.

"Is it about the bins?" she asked loudly.

"Pardon?"

"The bins! I can't be expected to get down all them stairs, I need new knees."

"Er, not the bins, no, Miss..."

"Mrs. Rossiter. I've already got a new hip, I'll be able to manage when I get the knees. Up, down them stairs like Sherpa Tenzing then."

"Can I come in?" the Doctor asked.

"Course not. You could be anyone," she answered, reaching for the door.

"I could be, but I'm not. I'm the Doctor." He didn't get a chance to finish when the door slammed shut.

*** * * * **

Aralyn groaned as she chose a door. She was forced to take the top floor, much to her dismay. She knocked on the door, sighing as she pulled her hand back.

The door opened up to reveal a boy about seventeen years old. His eyes widened when he saw her. Aralyn groaned, flipping her braid over her shoulder. The boy tried to casually lean against the door frame. "Hey," he said with a smirk.

Aralyn raised an eyebrow. She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Hello, I'm from Scotland Yard, an officer in training. I was wondering if anything strange had been going on around here."

"Nah, you're the first interesting thing to ever come around here."

She rolled her eyes. "Is there an adult here I can speak to?"

"I'm all alone, if that's what you're asking." Aralyn tried to not vomit in her mouth. "Why're you dressed like that if you're an officer? Are you in disguise?"

"I'm afraid that's none of your business," she spat.

He scoffed. "Doesn't matter to me. You won't be wearing any of that soon."

Aralyn had to refrain herself from punching him in the face. Instead, she smirked. Two can play at this game. "Actually... I am undercover. Super secret mission," she whispered, mouthing the word _murder_.

The boy's eyes widened. "No way. What happened?"

She scoffed. "There's no way you could've seen it. It was so fast and... tragic." She looked away, as if trying to keep herself from spilling the secret. She sighed, turning back to face him. "Someone was thrown off the top floor of this complex. The body was seen hitting the ground before it disappeared."

"Who was it?" the boy whispered.

"A boy, much like yourself. Lived on the top floor. Rumor has it he was thrown off the edge after attempting to flirt with someone who really wasn't interested."

The boy glared at her before slamming the door. Aralyn grinned and proudly moved on to the next flat.

*** * * * **

Rory instantly regretted his decision when the door he knocked on opened. A large, gruff looking man stepped into view, glaring at Rory darkly. "Community Support, just checking up on community... based... things," he tried to say confidently. "Is everything okay? Are your neighbors nice? You get on well?"

"Jim Purcell," the man introduced roughly. "Course we get on well. I'm their landlord. They love me, don't they?"

"You're the landlord?"

"I thought you'd know that, being from Community Support."

"Yeah. Yes, no, yes, of course." Suddenly, a bulldog snarled at Rory from the other side of the door. The man looked back up at Rory with an annoyed look. "Or maybe it's best if I come back another time."

Without a warning, the man slammed the door.

*** * * ***

After a few failed tries to find the child, the Doctor walked around the large balcony. He turned around when a pair of footsteps starting running towards him. "Ugh, I need a shower," Aralyn groaned as she slowed down to walk with him.

"Oh, why is that?"

"Some desperate teenager flirting the wrong way," she shivered.

The Doctor looked down at her shocked, but couldn't find words to say. He shut his gaping mouth. "It'd never work," he said, uncomfortably. "You're seven times his age."

"Eleven," she corrected.

The Doctor stopped in his tracks, giving her an incredulous look. "Elev- You're what?"

"I'm 187, dad. You missed a lot," she said smugly, continuing their walk. "Don't worry. I'm not interested."

"Good," he smiled, ruffling her hair.

They both looked down to see Amy and Rory meet up, walking past flats one of them already searched. Aralyn tugged on the Doctor's sleeve. "Look," she said, pointing to a window the Ponds just passed.

A little boy was looking out the window, his curtains tucked around his neck. He looked around warily as if searching for something that would harm him. Maybe he was the one. The Doctor went off to the flat, Aralyn following him closely. They stopped at the lift where they ran into Amy and Rory.

"Hey, any luck?" Amy asked.

"Three old ladies, a traffic warden from Croatia, and a man with ten cats," the Doctor reported.

"And desperate teenage boys," Aralyn added.

"What are we actually looking for?" Rory asked.

"Ten cats! Scared kid, remember?"

"I found, um, scary kids. Is that kinda-" Amy said.

"Mmm, try the next floor down. Catch you later," the Doctor advised, walking to the flat with Aralyn behind him.

As they walked down the balcony, she grabbed the Doctor's blazer as he almost walked past the right door. "Oh," he spoke, knocking on the door. A man opened the door as the Doctor grinned, holding up the psychic paper to him.

"Oh, right, that was quick," the man said.

"Was it?" the Doctor asked, looking at the paper.

"Claire said she'd phone someone," the man explained. "Social Services. It's not easy, you know. Admitting your kid's got a problem," the man said sadly.

"You've got a problem, I've got a problem. I'm better connected, I'm the Doctor. Call me Doctor. This is Ara, assistant in training. Uh, what can I call you?"

"Um, Alex," the man introduced, holding out his hand.

"Hello, Alex," the Doctor said, letting himself in. "So. Tell me about George," he said, seeing the door in the corner marked 'George's Room'.

Alex closed the door, leading the Doctor and Aralyn to the sofa. "Ever since he was born, he's been a funny kid."

"Funny's good, we like funny, don't we?" the Doctor said as he flipped through a scrapbook of the family.

"Tremendously," Aralyn agreed.

"Well, he never cries. Bottles it all up, I suppose. Tell him off, he just looks at you."

"How old is he?" the Doctor asked.

"He was eight in January. I mean, he should be growing out of stuff like this, shouldn't he?"

"Maybe," the Doctor said, setting the book down. "It's got worse though, lately?"

"Yeah. We talked about getting help. You know, maybe sending him somewhere. He started getting these nervous ticks, you know, funny little cough, blinking all the time. But now it's got completely out of hand. I mean, he's scared the death of everything," Alex explained, getting to his feet.

"Pantophobia," the Doctor said.

"What?"

"That's what it's called, pantophobia. Not a fear of pants, though, if that's what you're thinking."

"He wasn't thinking that," Aralyn deadpanned.

"Right, it's a fear of everything. Including pants, I suppose. In that case, sorry, go on."

"He hates crayons," Alex listed.

"Understandable."

"Old toys. He thinks the old lady across the way is a witch. He hates having a bath, in case there is something under the water. The lift sounds like someone breathing, it's..." Alex sighed. "Look, I don't know. I'm not an expert. Maybe you can get through to him."

"We'll do our best," the Doctor promised.

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the other side of the flat. Alex jumped up and made his way to George's room. "George, you okay? What's the matter?" he asked.

Alex looked down to see the lamp on the floor. "Never mind," he said, setting the lamp back on the nightstand. "Were you having a nightmare, son?"

"It wasn't a nightmare. I wasn't asleep." The Doctor and Aralyn walked in, standing in the doorway. "Who are you?" George asked.

"I'm the Doctor."

"A doctor?" George asked in fright. "Have you come to take me away?"

"No, George. I just want to talk to you," the Doctor said calmly.

"What about?"

"About the monsters."

*** * * ***

"Maybe it was things on telly, you know," Alex suggested as the Doctor tried to solve a rubix cube.

"Right," the Doctor mindlessly agreed as he and Aralyn sat on George's bed.

"Scary stuff. Getting under his skin. Frightening him. So we stopped letting him watch."

"Oh, you don't want to do that," the Doctor said, winking at George who blinked rapidly.

"And Claire thought it might be something he was reading."

"Great. Reading is great. Do you like stories, George?" George nodded shyly. "Yeah? Me, too. When I was your age, about, oh, a thousand years ago, I loved a good bedtime story. The Three Little Sontarans, The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes, Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday, eh? All the classics."

Aralyn coughed loudly, nudging his side. She gave him a look before snatching the rubix cube from him. She stood up to put it away when she saw a large cupboard propped against the wall. "Should I put it in here?" she asked. George went wide eyed, gasping at the thought. "Okay, cupboard is bad. Why not in there, George?"

"It's a.. thing," Alex explained. "Thing we got him doing ages back. Anything that frightens him, we put it in the cupboard. Creepy toys, scary pictures, that sort of thing."

"And is that where the monsters go?" the Doctor asked. He stood up, approaching the cupboard. "There's nothing to be scared of, George. It's just a cupboard."

He reached to open it, just touching the key. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door loudly, startling everyone. Alex sighed. "Front door."

He left to answer it as Aralyn sat down on the bed again. Jim Purcell walked in with his panting bulldog, acting like he owned the place. "How's Claire?" he asked.

"Good, thanks, at work. Look, um, this really isn't a good time. Maybe later-"

"And the kiddie?"

"Good," Alex hesitated.

"You know I hate to mention it, but it's that time again. And you know I like my money prompt."

Aralyn looked at George to see his scared face. She leaned over to him. "Don't listen to him, George. He's just a big bully who doesn't know any better."

George looked back at the door that was cracked open. The Doctor looked at him before holding out his sonic. "Is that a torch?" George asked.

"Screwdriver," the Doctor said, plopping down between Aralyn and George. "A sonic one. And other stuff."

"Please, may I see the other stuff?" George asked innocently.

Aralyn giggled. "I believe you may."

The Doctor pointed the sonic at the toy robots, bringing them to life. George watched in fascination as the toys moved around. "Huh? Pretty cool, eh?" He watched George as he stared at his moving toys. "No tears from George, that's what we've heard. Go on, give us a smile. There's a brave little soldier."

George looked at him with the same face as before until turning back to the toys. "Bit rusty at this. Anyway, let's open the cupboard, eh?" the Doctor said standing up and pointing the sonic at the cupboard.

"Now there's nothing to be-" Suddenly, the sonic beeped rapidly and the Doctor blanched. "Off the scale. Off the scale," he whispered, sitting back down.

"What is it?" Aralyn asked, leaning over his shoulder.

After he didn't answer, Alex walked back in. "Right, sorry about that. So, have you got this thing open yet?" he asked, walking to the cupboard.

"No, no, no, no!"

The Doctor and Aralyn jumped up, preventing Alex from opening the cupboard. "You don't want to do that."

"Why?"

"Because George's monsters are real."

*** * * ***

The Doctor found his way into the kitchen, promptly beginning to make tea. He threw the cupboards open, closing them when he wasn't satisfied with what was inside. Alex walked in and glared at him. "You're supposed to be a professional," he sneered.

Aralyn snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. The Doctor turned to her, giving her a scolding look. She shrugged her shoulders as he went back to tea making.

"I'll never get him to sleep now. You're so... irresponsible."

"No, Alex. Responsible. Very. Cupboard bad. Cupboard not bare. Stay away from cupboard. And there's something else, something I've missed, something... staring me in the face."

"Look, I'd like you to leave, please. You're just making things worse." The Doctor and Aralyn ignored him, continuing their tea making. "Will you stop making tea? I want you to leave!"

"Excuse me, but we're not leaving until we've had tea," Aralyn said snidely. "I've been parched all day."

"What? What do you mean, you're not leaving?" Alex asked rudely as the Doctor walked to the fridge. Alex came over and slammed the door to the fridge shut. "Leave. Get out."

The Doctor gave him a blank look before attempting to open the door again. "Now, please," Alex spat. "Look, maybe this was a bad idea. We should sort out George ourselves."

"You can't," the Doctor said, getting milk from the fridge.

"No one's going to tell us how to run our lives. I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion, we'll sort it."

"Do you really think that is a good idea?" Aralyn snapped. Alex's face went white.

"We've come an incredibly long way to get here. If you want to think of this in a different way, George sent a message or distress call, whatever floats your boat. The thing inside that cupboard is so terrifying that it managed to send out a little boy's cry for help across time and space. Through all of these things you can't even begin to imagine, so based on that information, don't you think we're telling the truth when we say monsters are real?"

Alex stared at her in shock as the Doctor grinned proudly. Aralyn took a deep breath as if her rambling tired her. "Never been one for big speeches, I usually leave it up to him," she said, pointing at the Doctor.

"You're not from Social Services, are you?" Alex asked.

Aralyn snorted. "No. And I'm definitely not his 'assistant'."

"She's my daughter." the Doctor said simply. Suddenly, he laughed. "Oh, it feels good to say that again!"

Alex's face turned to confusion, looking between the two. "Don't ask. You really don't want to know," Aralyn said.

The Doctor straightened up, and clapped his hands once. "First things first. You got any Jammie Dodgers?"

*** * * ***

"What is it with these photos?" the Doctor asked himself, looking at the scrapbook. Aralyn was seated in a small green chair, sipping her tea calmly. The Doctor tossed the scrapbook away as Alex sat on the sofa.

"Anyway, good, nice tea. Nothing like a cuppa, but... decision, should we open the cupboard?" the Doctor asked while setting his cup on the table. Alex nearly spit up his tea. "What?"

"Should we? Got to open the cupboard, haven't we?" the Doctor asked. "Course we have. Come on, Alex, Alex, come on, how else will we ever find out what's going on here?"

Alex jumped up. "Right, but you said-"

"Monsters, yeah, well, that's what I do, breakfast, dinner and tea. Fight the monsters, so this, this is an average day at the office for me."

"Okay, yeah, you're right," Alex said, about to follow the Doctor to George's room as Aralyn watched.

"Or maybe we shouldn't open the cupboard. We have no idea what might be in there. How powerful, how evil that thing might be."

"We don't?"

"Come on, Alex, Alex, come on. Are you crazy? We can't open the cupboard."

"God, no! No, we mustn't."

Aralyn stood up, slamming her cup on the table, nearly breaking it. "For God's sake, just open the bloody cupboard!"

The room went silent before the Doctor quickly took a sip of his tea. "Going to open the cupboard," he said before running to George's room.

Alex and Aralyn joined him as George stared at them with big eyes. The Doctor cracked his knuckles, looking at Aralyn, mentally telling her to get ready. George hid behind Alex's leg as the Doctor put his ear to the cupboard door.

He turned the key, unlocking the door before suddenly throwing it open. They all stopped to just see clothes hanging. The Doctor looked through it to see if he missed anything. All he saw was a bunch of toys and a large dollhouse.

"I don't understand. It has to be the cupboard. The readings from the sonic screwdriver, they were-" The Doctor stopped, running into the living room where the scrapbook was. He picked it and walked back into George's room. "How old is George, Alex?"

"What? How old?"

"Yes. How old is George?"

"Well, I told you, he just turned eight."

"So you remember when he was born, then?"

"Of course," Alex laughed as Aralyn sat beside George on his bed.

"Of course you do. How could you not? You and Claire, Christmas Eve, 2002, right?" the Doctor asked, showing Alex the pictures of him and Claire.

"What, oh yeah."

"A couple of weeks before George was born. Tell me about the day he arrived, must have been wonderful."

"Well, it was the best day of my... life."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound sure."

"What are you trying to say? Look, I don't like this. I told you before, I want you to go," Alex said with a scared voice.

"What's the matter, Alex?"

"I can't... oh, no. Oh, this is scary."

"No, Alex, this is scary," the Doctor said, flipping the page. "Claire with baby George, newborn, yes?"

"Yes."

"Less than a month after Christmas."

"So?"

"So, look, look, Claire's not pregnant."

"What?"

"Not pregnant."

"Well, of course not. Claire can't have kids!" Alex shouted with wide eyes.

"Say that again?"

"We tried everything. She was desperate. As much IVF as we could afford, but... Claire can't have kids. How... how can I have forgotten that?"

They both looked down to see George sitting on his bed with the same blank look as before. Aralyn still didn't move from her spot next to him. "It's not possible. This isn't..."

The sound of the lift was heard as someone began to use it. The flat started to shake and the cupboard rumbled. The lamp brightened to an almost blinding light. George gasped as the cupboard flew open.

Suddenly, the light seemed to be pulling the Doctor, Aralyn, and Alex all into the cupboard.

"George! George, what's going on? Are you doing this?" the Doctor shouted.

"What's happening?" Alex cried.

"Please save me from the monsters! Please save me from the monsters!" George chanted, hugging his knees to his chest. Everything fell over in the room until the three of them were sucked into the cupboard, leaving George by himself.

*** * * * **

Aralyn jumped awake when the Doctor flew up from the floor. "George! George, don't do this. We want to help you, George!"

Alex and Aralyn got up from the floor to see they were in an old looking house. Almost like a Victorian style. The only light came from outside, but it was still night.

"We went... we went into the cupboard. We went into the cupboard," Alex panicked. "How can it be bigger in here?"

"More common than you'd think, actually. You okay?" the Doctor asked.

"Where are we?"

"Obvious, isn't it?"

"No!"

"Dolls house. We're inside the dolls house."

"The dolls house?"

"Yeah, in the cupboard, in your flat. The dolls house."

"No, look. Slow down, would you?"

"Look, wooden chicken. Cups, saucers, plates, knives, forks, fruit. The chicken's wood, so... we're either inside the dolls house or this is a refuge for dirty posh people who eat wooden food. Or termites. Giant termites trying to get on the property ladder. No. That's possible. Is that possible?"

The Doctor ran through the door and into a dark hallway that led off to different rooms. Aralyn followed closely while Alex had to run. "Look, will you stop? What is he? What is George? And how could I forget that Claire can't have kids, how?"

"Perception filter. Some kind of hugely powerful perception filter convinced you and Claire, everyone, made you change your memories. Now, what could do that?"

*** * * ***

"So, Claire can't have kids and something responded to that. Responded to that need. What could do that?"

"I thought you were the expert, fighting monsters all day long. You tell me."

"Oi, listen, mush, old eyes. Remember? I've been around the block a few times."

"More than a few," Aralyn added.

The Doctor continued rambling on about blocks while Aralyn and Alex perked up at a noise. It was the lift. "Doctor, listen," Alex said.

"Shh, what's that?" he interrupted.

"It's the lift. It's the sound that the lift makes. George is scared stiff of it." The lift stopped and Alex turned to see candles light bulbs go out one at a time. Alex watched as the five lights turned on again, one at a time before all turning off.

"Five times. The lights. It's happening five times. It's like one of George's habits. We have to switch the lights on and off five times."

"Now you're getting it," the Doctor said.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you tell George to do, Alex, with everything that scares him?"

"Well, put it in the... cupboard."

"Exactly, and George isn't just an ordinary little boy, we know that now. So, anything scary, he puts in here. Scary toys, like the dolls house. Scary noises, like the lift. Even his own rituals have become part of it. A psychic repository for all his fears. But what is he?"

Suddenly, laughter came from behind them, sounding like a giggling child. They turned to see a large doll come around the corner. "Oh, my God," Alex panicked.

The large wooden doll came at them, it's painted face fixed in a position. The Doctor pointed his sonic at it to try and stop it. "Dad, it's wood!" Aralyn reminded.

"A gun? You've got a gun?" Alex asked.

"It's not a gun. I've got to invent a setting for wood. It's embarrassing." The Doctor opened a door to find a large set of child's scissors. He fought the doll back before quickly leading the others into a different room.

"Massive psychic field, perfect perception filter and that need, that need of Claire's to... to... stupid Doctor!" he cried, hitting himself in the head as Alex fought the doll back with the scissors.

"George is a Tenza. Of course he is."

"He's a what?"

"A cuckoo. A cuckoo in the nest. A Tenza, he's a Tenza," the Doctor said, opening another door to find more dolls behind it. "Millions of them hatch in space and then, woof! Off they drift, looking for a nest. The Tenza young can sense exactly what their foster parents want and then they assimilate perfectly."

"George is an alien?" Alex asked as Aralyn started backing up towards the stairs.

"Yep."

"But he's our child!"

"Of course he is. The child you always wanted. He sensed that instinctively and sought you out. But something scared him. Started a cycle of fear, it's all completely instinctive. Subconscious. George isn't even aware that he's controlling it." the Doctor said as the dolls started following them up the stairs.

"So, we have to make him aware. George! George, you're the only one who can stop this, but you have to believe. You have to believe. You have to know you're safe. I can't save you from your monsters, only you can. George, listen to me!"

Aralyn looked at the top of the stairs to see Rory fighting off more dolls. "Rory!" the Doctor cried. "Where's Amy?"

Rory pointed up at a red haired doll coming towards them. "Oh, God."

"George! George, you have to face your fears! You have to face them now. You have to open the cupboard. We'll all be trapped here forever in a living death. George! George, listen to me! End this, end this. End it now!"

Suddenly, the dolls froze. They were no longer moving. The Doctor looked down to see George on the ground floor. "You did it," the Doctor smiled. "Hey, it's okay, it's all okay now. Everything's going to be fine."

The dolls started moving, but they paid no mind to the four people on the stairs. They wanted George. "No. No, no, no, no, no. George, you created this whole world. This whole thing. You can smash it. You can destroy it." George shook his head as the dolls got closer. "Something's holding you back. Something's holding him back."

The Doctor closed his eyes remembering what George said the first time they met. _"A doctor? Have you come to take me away?"_

"That's what it is. That's what the trigger was. He thought you were rejecting him. He thought he wasn't wanted. That someone was going to come and take him away," he told Alex.

"Well, we... we talked about it."

"Yeah, and he heard you. Alex, a Tenza's sole function is to fit in, to be wanted and you were rejecting him."

"We just couldn't cope. We needed help."

"Yes, but George didn't know that. He thought you were rejecting him. He still thinks it."

"How can we keep him? How can we? He's not-"

"Not what?"

"He's not... human."

The dolls circled George, making no escape for him. "Dad!" he cried.

Alex handed the scissors to the Doctor, running down the stairs towards his son. He pushed the dolls out of the way, throwing his arms around George. "Whatever you are, whatever you do, you're my son. And I will never, ever send you away."

Aralyn smiled at the interaction between father and son. The dolls fell to the ground as the cupboard opened up, ending the nightmare.

*** * * ***

That morning, Claire came home from a long night at work. She opened the front door to hear George laughing. She looked into the kitchen to see Alex and two other people playing with George. She walked into the kitchen, surprised to see two complete strangers.

"Hello! You're Claire, I expect," the Doctor greeted. He walked over and kissed her cheeks. "How do you feel about kippers?"

"Uh..."

"They sent these two, about George. It's all sorted."

"We had a great time, didn't we?" Aralyn asked George.

"Yeah," he agreed with a grin.

"See? He's fine," the Doctor said.

Claire looked up at him. "What, just like that?"

"Yes. Trust me."

Claire smiled, happy to see they were a happy family once again. After breakfast, the Doctor and Aralyn quickly left before they stayed later than they should have. Suddenly, Alex ran out the door to stop them. "Doctor, Ara, wait."

"Sorry, yes, bye."

"No, no, you can't just... I mean-"

"It's sorted, you sorted it. Good man, Alex. Proud of you," the Doctor said, shaking his hand.

"What, that's it?"

"Well, apart from making sure he eats his greens and getting him into a good school, yes."

"Yeah, but is he gonna... I don't know, sprout another head or three eyes or something?"

"He's one of the Tenza, remember. He'll adapt perfectly now. Be whatever you want him to be."

Aralyn smiled when she saw George walk out the door. She walked up to him, giving him a big hug. She broke away and smiled as George and Alex watched her and the Doctor walk away. Aralyn looked up to see the Doctor grinning at her, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "What's got you all smug?"

"You and George."

"What about us?"

"You were so gentle with him. Like Jaime and Toby back on Henry Avery's ship."

"Yeah? What's your point?"

"My point is that maybe you and Jaime aren't so different after all," he said with a suggestive smile.

*** * * ***

The Doctor and Aralyn went back to the TARDIS to see Amy and Rory sitting on a low rock wall just outside. "Come on, you two. Things to do. People to see, whole civilizations to save. You feeling okay?" the Doctor asked, sitting next to them.

"Um, I think so," Amy said.

"Well, it's good to be all back together again. In the flesh. Come on," he said, leading them all into the TARDIS.

"Now, did someone mention something about planets and history and stuff?"

"Yeah," Rory said.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Um..."

"Mind's gone blank," the Doctor concluded.

"Well, I have just been turned into a wooden dolly," Amy explained.

"Excuses, excuses."

"It's tough, though. It's like being given three wishes. The whole universe."

Aralyn watched fondly as the other three tried to decide which place to go. As much as Aralyn enjoyed being back together with them, she knew she would feel better about it all when Amy and Rory finally accepted who she was.


	29. Closing Time (#1)

"There's a list on the fridge."

"I saw it," Craig answered, trying to not sound exasperated.

"And I've labelled the food and sort of numbered it."

"Sophie, you don't need to number food," he assured.

"It's just a suggestion. Also, my mum might phone... and your mum and my dad. And, you know, just innocent people."

"I can cope on my own. Now, please go and have a rest. You need it. I love you."

"I love you, too," Sophie smiled, hugging her husband lovingly. "And thank you for this. And I do know you can cope on your own. And I may have drawn some arrows in the fridge."

"Okay, you really have to go now," Craig said, shooing Sophie out of the house. He showed her out the door, not noticing how the light flickered in the hallway.

*** * * ***

"Mum, it's not just you. I'm phoning everybody. I'm texting the world, 'Craig Owens can do it on his own'. No one is coming to help me." A firm knock on the door told him otherwise. He rolled his eyes. "Mum, I'm going to have to call you back."

Craig hung up as the knocking continued. "I'm coping. I'm coping on my own. I'm coping on my own! I'm coping on my own!" he repeated as he opened the front door. What he didn't expect to see were two faces he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Hello, Craig! We're back!" the Doctor greeted.

"You didn't really think you'd get rid of us, did you?" Aralyn asked curiously.

Craig stared at the pair of them with wide eyes. "She didn't... how could she phone you?"

"How could who phone me? Nobody phoned me," the Doctor answered.

"We're just here," Aralyn assured, taking a peak inside. "Oh, you've redecorated!"

"I don't like it," the Doctor deadpanned.

"It's a different house. We moved," Craig explained.

"Yes, that's it."

"What are you two doing here?"

"Social call. We've never done one before and I convinced him to try it out," Aralyn explained. "How is Sophie doing?"

Craig eyed her suspiciously, wondering how she suddenly got so talkative. "Er, good. Good, yeah, she's good."

Aralyn nodded, pleased with his response. She nudged the Doctor with her elbow, giving him a nod. "How are you?" he asked, painstakingly awkward.

"I'm fine."

"This is the bit where I say I'm fine, too, isn't it?" the Doctor asked, directed towards his daughter. "I'm fine, too," he replied confidently. "Good. Love to Sophie. Bye."

He quickly turned and started walking away. Aralyn stared at him when suddenly, the outdoor light started buzzing, flickering in and out. "Something's wrong," the Doctor said to himself.

He pushed past Craig and into his home, Aralyn chasing after him. Craig confusedly closed the door and followed the pair. The Doctor pulled out his sonic and followed its signal to a staircase.

"On your own, you said. But you're not. You're not on your own," he said, running up the stairs. Craig tried shushing him, but he didn't pay attention. "Increased sulphur emissions. And look at the state of this place. What are you not telling me?" he questioned, passing piles of small clothes, toys, and diapers.

"Doctor, please," Craig begged.

"Shut up, both of you!" Aralyn snapped.

Craig stared at her as the Doctor quickly shut his mouth. He knew better than to upset his daughter. His curiosity got the best of him as he threw open a door. Suddenly, a baby started crying and Craig groaned. "You've woken him!"

Aralyn walked in, curiously following the young cries. Laying in a crib was Craig and Sophie's son.

*** * * ***

"So, when you say on your own..." the Doctor trailed off.

"Yes, I meant on my own with the baby, yes. Because no one thinks I can cope on my own, which is so unfair. Because I can't cope on my own with him. I can't, he just cries all the time. I mean, do they have off switches?" Craig ranted, setting his son down in his high chair.

"Human beings? No. Believe me, I've checked."

"No, babies!"

"Same difference. Sometimes this works, though," the Doctor said. He leaned forward and gently shushed the baby. Remarkably, the baby stopped crying.

Craig stared at him with wide eyes. "Can you teach me to do that?"

"Probably not."

"Oh, please. Come on. I need something. I am rubbish at this," he cried.

"At what?"

"Being a dad. You read all the books and they tell you you'll know what to do if you follow your instincts. I have no instincts. That's what this weekend's about, trying to prove to people I can do this one thing well."

The Doctor ignored him, laughing loudly at a book he happened to pick up. He quickly set it down. "So what did you call him? Will I blush?" he hinted.

"No, we didn't call him The Doctor."

"No, I didn't think you would," he grimaced.

"He's called Alfie. What are you doing here, anyway?"

Aralyn leaned forward as Alfie sputtered out gibberish, like all babies do. She laughed out loud as if he had told her a funny joke. The Doctor listened to Alfie as Aralyn continued to laugh.

"Yes, he likes that, Alfie, though personally he prefers to be called Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All."

Aralyn giggled as Craig looked at the Doctor incredulously. "I'm sorry, what?"

"That's what he calls himself."

"And how do you know that?"

"We speak baby."

"Of course, you do," Craig rolled his eyes. "I don't even know when his nappy needs changing, I'm the one who's supposed to be his dad."

"That reminds me, where is Sophie? I'd quite like to see her again," Aralyn mentioned.

"She's gonna away with Melina for the weekend. She needs a rest."

"If anyone needs a rest, it's you, mate," Aralyn scoffed into her newspaper as Craig rubbed his eyes.

"No, he's your dad. You can't just call him Not Mum," the Doctor answered Alfie.

"Not Mum?"

"That's you. Also Not Mum, that's me and Aralyn. And everybody else is... peasants. That's a bit unfortunate." Aralyn snorted, keeping her eyes trained on her newspaper.

"Hang on, Aralyn? Who's Aralyn?" Craig asked. The Doctor and Aralyn's eyes widened at the Doctor's mistake.

"It's my middle name," she answered quickly. "It was time for a change," she smiled convincingly.

Craig cocked an eyebrow, but didn't press the matter. "What are you two here for? What's happening?" he asked.

"Just popped in to say hello," the Doctor answered.

"You don't do that."

Aralyn peeked her eyes over the newspaper. "He's on to us," she whispered loudly.

"I checked upstairs when we moved in. It's real. And next door, both sides, they're humans. Is it the fridge? Are there aliens in my fridge?"

"I just want to see you, Craig. Cross my hearts," the Doctor assured. "Been knocking around on our own for a bit, bit of a farewell tour. One last thing, popping in to see you, then we're off to see the Alignment of Exodor."

"The Alignment of Exodor?"

"Seventeen galaxies in perfect unison. Meant to be spectacular, we can't miss it. Literally can't, it's locked in a time stasis field. I get one crack at flying my TARDIS straight into it, if I get my dates right," he wondered, snatching Aralyn's newspaper out of her hands. "Which I have."

"Sounds nice," Craig commented.

"So this is us, popping in and popping out again, just being social, just having a laugh. Never mind that."

"Never mind what?" Craig eyed suspiciously.

"Mmm, nothing," the Doctor muttered, circling the table.

"No, you've noticed something. You've, You've got your noticing face on. I have nightmares about that face," Craig continued as the Doctor tensed up.

"Nope. Given all that up. Done noticing things."

The light flickered, attracting everyone's attention. "Didn't even notice that, for example. Well, got to go. Good seeing you, Craig. Goodbye, Stormaggedon. Off we go, Ara."

Aralyn groaned as she pushed her chair back, following him out of the room as Alfie began to cry. Craig stopped the Doctor in a panic. "No, wait, wait, can you do the shush thing?"

"No, it only works once, and only on life forms with underdeveloped brains," the Doctor explained, pulling Aralyn out of the room behind him.

"Hang on! You said 'farewell tour'. What do you mean, farewe-"

"Shh..." The Doctor gently shushed Craig, shutting him up instantly. Aralyn rolled her eyes as she was hastily pulled towards the front door. Her feet crunched under the gravel driveway as the Doctor tensely spoke to himself.

"Just go. Stop noticing. Just go. Stop noticing. Just go. Stop noticing. Just go. Stop it. Am I noticing?"

"Not in the slightest," Aralyn spat sarcastically.

"No. No, I am not," the Doctor said, pulling out his sonic. "And what I'm not doing is scanning around for electrical fluctuations. Oh, shut up, you. I'm just dropping in on a friend. The last thing I need right now is a patina of teleport energy."

Aralyn got away from his grip and watched him stomp towards the TARDIS. This wasn't going to last long. "I'm going. Do you hear me? Going." The Doctor looked back to see Aralyn with her arms crossed. "Not staying, going. I am through saving them. I am going away now."

"See how that works for you!" she called.

*** * * ***

Aralyn didn't know how she ended up in a shopping mall. She also didn't know how her father managed to get a job in said shopping mall, especially in the toy section. The Doctor was busy showing a group of children how a model helicopter worked. Aralyn seemed to be hiding behind him, watching everything from a distance.

Suddenly, she heard him start to panic. Right as she looked up, she saw his model helicopter fly straight at a costumer, nearly hitting his face. Aralyn watched as Craig snapped his head in their direction, wanting to know who was flying the helicopter. The children scattered as he approached them, pushing a carriage with Alfie in front of him.

"Craig!" the Doctor grinned.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm the Doctor. I work in a shop now. Here to help. Look, they gave me a badge with my name on it in case I forget who I am. Very thoughtful as that does happen."

"You were leaving. The Alignment of... Exeter."

"Exodor," Aralyn corrected, joining the three of them.

"Yeah, what about that? One chance to see it, you said."

"Well, I was on my way," the Doctor wrung his hands nervously. "Saw a shop, got a job. You've got to live in the moment! Craig, mind Yappy!"

Aralyn looked down to see Craig narrowly step on a robot dog. "What?"

"Yappy. The robot dog. Not as much as I remember," he laughed. "You look awful."

Craig sighed. "Well, I haven't slept, have I? I still can't stop him crying. I even tried singing to him last night."

"Yeah, he did mention that. He thought you were crying, too. He didn't get a wink. Yappy, say goodbye to Craig and Stormageddon." He held up his robot dog, "Goodbye, Craig! Goodbye, Stormageddon!" The Doctor put the dog back on the floor, barely noticing something small whizz past the aisle.

"You're here for a reason, aren't you?" Craig asked. "You've noticed something and you're investigating it. And because it's you, it's going to be dangerous and alien."

"It might not be." "You know us so well," the Doctor and Aralyn said in unison.

"Doctor, I live here. I need to know," Craig pleaded.

"No, you don't."

Aralyn glared at him, sharply elbowing him in the side. "My baby lives here. My son."

The Doctor went silent, knowing he couldn't lie to Craig anymore. "Sheila Clark went missing Tuesday. Hadif Gosh, last seen Friday. Tom Luka, last seen Sunday."

Craig pulled out his newspaper, glancing over the articles. "Why is none of this on the front page?"

"Oh, page one has an exclusive on Nina, a local girl who got kicked off Britain's Got Talent," the Doctor marveled. "These people are on pages seven, nineteen, twenty two. Because no one's noticed yet. They're far too excited about Nina's emotional journey which, in fairness, is quite inspiring," he continued, pushing Alfie into another section of the mall.

"And what else?" Craig asked, following the Doctor and Aralyn into the clothes section.

"These funny old power fluctuations which just happen to coincide with the disappearances."

"No, but that's just the council putting in new cables, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes. That's it. Mystery solved. Wasting my time. Now, you can go home and we can go to Exodor. Goodbye. And here's the lift!" the Doctor said, opening it with his sonic.

"It says it's out of order."

"Not anymore. See? Here to help," the Doctor, pushing in Craig and Alfie.

"It says danger!"

"Oh, rubbish. Lifts aren't dangerous," he scoffed as Aralyn raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do I look like I'm stupid?"

Alfie made a noise, causing the Doctor and Aralyn to chuckle. "Quiet, Stormy." The Doctor tried to walk off, but couldn't bring himself to. "Oh, alright. There's more."

The Doctor and Aralyn walked into the small lift, the Doctor running his sonic over the buttons, closing the door. "Just between you, me, Ara and Stormy, don't want to frighten the punters, someone's been using a teleport relay right here in this shop. Missing people last seen in this area. Before you ask, CCTV's been wiped," he said quietly.

"A teleport?" Craig asked in disbelief. "A tele- a big- a teleport? Like a beam-me-up teleport, like you see in Star Trek?"

"Exactly. Someone's been using a beam-me-up Star Trek teleport. Could be disguised as anything."

"But a teleport in a shop? That's ridiculous," Craig scoffed.

"Mmm, not as uncommon as you think," Aralyn trailed off.

Suddenly, the lights went out, flickering dimly. "What was that? Was that the lights, again?" Craig asked.

"No, that was the plumbing, honest mistake," Aralyn groaned.

The Doctor looked up to see that they were in a new, darker area. "Yes, that's it. That's all. It's the lights," he said quickly.

"Why'd you say that like that?"

"Like what?" the Doctor asked in a high-pitched voice before switching to a lower tone.

"Like that, in that high-pitched voice."

"Just keep looking at me, Craig. Right at me. Just keep looking," the Doctor ordered, glancing over Craig's shoulder to another room.

"Why?"

"Well, because, because... because I love you," he said, turning Craig to face him.

Aralyn raised her eyebrows. "Ooh, that took a turn."

"You love me?"

"Yes, Craig, it's you. It's always been you." Aralyn knew what he was doing, but it didn't keep her from growing incredibly uncomfortable. "Is that so surprising?" the Doctor asked, putting his arms around Craig's shoulders to reach his sonic.

"Doctor, are you going to kiss me?"

"Oh God, please don't," Aralyn begged.

"Yes, Craig, yes I am. Would you like that? Bit out of practice, but I've had some wonderful feedback," he said, ignoring his daughter's disgusted look.

"Incoming Cyberman!" Aralyn's voice wavered as the robotic man approached them.

The Doctor pointed his sonic, reversing the teleport. With a flash of light, they were all back in the lift. "Quick reverse."

"Okay, what the hell just happened!?"

"Obviously, he proclaimed his undying love for you," Aralyn teased as the Doctor glared at her, the lift opening again.

"They must have linked the teleport relay to the lift, but I've fused it. They can't use that again. Stuck up there on their spaceships."

"What were those things?" Craig asked, pushing the baby carriage after the two Time Lords.

"Cybermen."

"A ship. A spaceship. We were in space!" Craig realized.

*** * * ***

"It's got to be up there somewhere. Can't get a fix. It must be shielded." The Doctor, Aralyn, Craig and Stormaggedon were now outside as the Doctor tried to sonic something up in the sky.

"But you fused the teleport. You sorted it. They can't come back," Craig protested.

"No, no, no. I just bought myself a little time. I've still got to work out what they're doing before I can stop it."

"But if they've got the teleport and they're that evil, why haven't they invaded already?"

The Doctor looked at Craig with a forlorn look. "Craig, take Alfie and go."

"No," Craig replied strongly.

"No?"

"No. I remember from last time. People got killed. People that didn't know you. I know where's safest for me and Alfie, and that's right next to you."

"Is that so?" the Doctor said quietly.

"Yeah, you always win. You always survive."

The Doctor smiled sadly. "Those were the days."

"Don't you dare say that," Aralyn hissed.

"I can help you," Craig insisted. "I'm staying.

"Craig..." the Doctor cringed. "Alright! Alright, maybe those days aren't quite over yet. Let's go investigate. I mean, there's no immediate danger now."

*** * * ***

Back in the shopping mall, Craig made sure to keep himself and Alfie close to the Doctor and Aralyn. They passed by the jewelry section, the Doctor greeting the saleswoman. "Good afternoon, Val."

"Hello," the older lady smiled. The Doctor nodded at Craig and turned to walk away.

Craig grabbed his arm in panic. "Where am I investigating?"

"Well, look around. Ask questions. People like it when you're with a baby. Babies are sweet. People talk to you. That's why I usually take a human with me. Now I have to settle for Ara here."

"So I'm your baby?" Craig asked.

"You're my baby," the Doctor grinned, wrapping his arms around Craig's shoulders in a friendly hug. Craig pulled out of the hug, awkwardly pushing Alfie towards another section. Aralyn smirked as the Doctor's attention went back to Val.

"I hope you don't mind my saying, Doctor, but I think you look ever so sweet. You, your daughter, your partner, and the baby."

Aralyn snorted into her hand as the Doctor remained oblivious as always. "Partner? Yes, I like it. Is it better than companion?"

"Companion. Sounds old fashioned. There's no need to be coy these days," Val shrugged.

Aralyn struggled to keep her giggles in as the Doctor leaned closer to her. "Not noticed anything unusual around here lately, Val?"

"Well..." she said, sounding like she was starting off gossip.

"Yes, yes?"

"Mary Warnock saw... Don Petheridge snogging Andrea Groom outside the Conservative Club on his so-called day off golfing."

"Ooh, scandalous," Aralyn teased.

"Yeah? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," the Doctor said, disappointedly walking away.

"And then there's that silver rat thing," Val called.

The Doctor and Aralyn shared a knowing smile. "What?"

*** * * ***

Val lead the two Time Lords to the toy section where she claimed she last saw a so-called silver rat. The Doctor was underneath a table with his sonic in hand. "Silver rat." He popped up with a small net in hand. "Glowing red eyes."

"Yes," Val confirmed. "Then it zizzed off. I wanted to get one for my nephew, but stockroom say there's no such item."

"Oh, I bet they do," he mumbled.

"Well, what was it then? Answer me that." Suddenly, a crashing came from the clothing section as if something had fallen over. "What's all that hullabaloo?" Val cried.

The Doctor and Aralyn turned to see Craig in a predicament. He was picking up a fallen clothing rack of ladies wear with an annoyed employee and security guard beside him. "Um... that'll be my partner," the Doctor said, handing the net to Val before running off.

Aralyn sighed as she followed him, watching Craig try to quickly clean up his mess. "Hello, everyone, here to help!" the Doctor announced as Alfie began to cry.

"Hello, Doctor," the woman and security guard greeted.

"Hello. Has anyone seen a silver rat? No. Okay, long shot. I see you've met my friend, Craig. Nice uniform, George," he complimented the guard.

"Thank you, Doctor. If he's with you, that's alright then."

"Sorry," the woman said in exasperation. "I thought he was hassling me cause that's the last thing I need today. Cause Shona's not turned up, right? So I'm doing twice the work for the same money, if you don't mind-"

"Shh," the Doctor silenced the employee's rambling.

"Please teach me how to do that," Craig begged.

"No. Hold on, un-shh. Shona?"

"My supervisor. She's meant to be in today, but never showed up."

"Where did you last see her?" Aralyn asked.

*** * * ***

The woman pointed the team of four towards a public changing room. The hallway wasn't very well lit and all of the curtain were closed. "How'd you do that? It's a power, isn't it? Some sort of weird alien hypnotic power," Craig said. "I bet you excrete some sort of gas that makes people love you."

"Ooh, that's a new one. I kind of like that," Aralyn spoke.

The Doctor quickly opened a curtain earning a shriek. "Ah! Sorry, madam," he apologized, closing and opening the curtain. "I'd try that in red if I were you."

"I'm right though, aren't I?"

"Well, you love us," Aralyn pointed out. "You haven't noticed us excreting any weird gases at you, or have you?"

"I don't love you, don't bring that up again," Craig sighed.

Alfie made a noise, looking up at the Doctor. "Yes, I know. Of course he does. Of course you do. We're partners."

"Yeah, but I did exactly what you would've done and I nearly got arrested," Craig protested.

"Stormy thinks you should believe in yourself more," the Doctor said, making his way further down the hallway.

"Great. So now my baby's reviewing me."

"Here. Right here, last night," the Doctor said, walking into the last changing room. "Last night. A Cyberman took Shona."

"A Cyberman? I thought it was a little silver rat."

"It's not a rat. It's a Cybermat," he corrected rudely.

"Alright, don't have a go at me just because I don't know the names," Craig huffed.

"At least you tried," Aralyn tried to help his mood.

*** * * ***

"Cybernates are infiltrators. Very small, very deadly. They collect power likes bees collect pollen. One of them has been sucking the electrical energy from this area. But why a shop? You know, why not a nuclear power station?" the Doctor asked, back into the clothing section.

"Okay, why?"

"Let's ask it. We wait for the shop to shut, we stake the place out, we grab ourselves a Cybermat," he planned.

"And this is just a coincidence, is it?"

"What is?"

"Aliens in Colchester. Aliens twice in my life, happening to me just when you turn up."

Aralyn's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, excuse me, but this was happening long before we showed up. It's not our fault!"

Craig sighed as Alfie began to cry. "Oh, shh, look what you've done now."

Aralyn rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, that's our fault that he's mentioned his nappy twice."

"Yeah, well, sorry, I don't speak baby, do I?" Craig snapped.

"There's a changing station over by Electrical Goods," the Doctor directed.

"Of course you'd know that. Come on, Alfie," Craig huffed, turning away.

"Craig! It's a coincidence!" he shouted.

"Want to know what else is a coincidence?" Aralyn asked quietly.

The Doctor turned to see Amelia and Rory walking around, normal as ever. Rory was carrying about six shopping bags as Amy looked around. A little girl suddenly ran up to her. "Can I have your autograph, please?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Amy smiled, not noticing the two Time Lords staring at her.

The Doctor smiled at her in wonder as if he couldn't believe she was there. Aralyn wanted to run up and say hello, but she knew it wouldn't turn out well. They would only see Jaime.

The two of them stood there, frozen as Amy happily signed the little girl's notepad. The Doctor hid behind a clothing rack as Amy and Rory walked the other way. The little girl pointed towards the wall behind Aralyn and the Doctor.

They turned to see a large advertisement of a new perfume. Amy's face was plastered on the front of it. **Petrichor. For the Girl Who's Tired of Waiting.** Aralyn smiled warmly, reminding her of Idris. "Amelia Pond."

*** * * ***

Many hours they waited for the shopping mall to close down. Aralyn had never felt so relieved once all the customers and employees left. The only person left was George the security guard. The Doctor pointed his sonic around, searching for the Cybermat. As if on cue, Alfie began to cry. "Can't you put that on quiet?" Craig asked, gesturing to the sonic.

"No. It's a sonic screwdriver. Sonic = sound." The Doctor pulled a papoose out of coat, handing it to Craig. "Take this. I got it on my discount, 10% off."

"Why do I need a papoose?"

"Alfie wants you attached to him. You are too slow when he summons you," Aralyn added.

"When's he going to stop giving me marks?"

"Never. It's parenthood. Couldn't you have just got a babysitter?" the Doctor asked.

Aralyn raised her hand. "I volunteer."

"I told everyone I know I didn't need their help this weekend. They won't even answer my calls. I didn't know there was going to be an invasion of Cybermen."

Craig gently lifted a crying Alfie out of his carriage. Suddenly, a flash of silver raced out in front of them. The Doctor threw down his net, successfully catching the Cybermat. "Aha! It's very hot. Must be on low power. I'm better at that than I remember."

He reached under the net, swiftly picking the Cybermat up. "Oh, is that it?" Craig asked in relief. "Oh, that's quite cute. Look at that." Suddenly, the Cybermat's mouth opened, showing razor sharp teeth. Aralyn gasped as the Doctor quickly sonicked it, rendering it useless.

"Metal rat, real mouth! Metal rat, real mouth!" Craig sniveled.

"Yes, I know it is. Stop screaming, shh!" Suddenly, a man's scream came from a dark hallway. Aralyn guessed it must've been George. "Come on!" the Doctor said, running towards the scream.

Aralyn followed after him as Craig struggled to get Alfie into the papoose. She lost sight of the Doctor as she ran into a dark hallway. After a few moments, she noticed a lone torch on the cement floor. She gasped as she saw the Doctor's unconscious body laying on the floor.

She ran forward, dropping down next to him. "Dad! Dad, come on, wake up!" She shook his shoulders as he slowly came to. "Hey, what happened?" she asked as Craig ran in.

"Oh, I've been chipped... chapped... chopped! The Cyberman."

Aralyn pulled him to his feet as he groaned from the blow to his head. "It killed George. Took him back to the ship."

"The Cybermen are here?" Craig asked. "But you said-"

"Yeah, I know what I said, okay? A lot of things. But I fused the teleport. It should've taken them days to repair," the Doctor explained, stumbling around.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, I should be dead, but the arm it chopped me with, it was damaged. Old spare parts. Must have changed those missing people."

"Changed the missing into Cybermen?"

"That's what they do," Aralyn explained. "They take humans and put their brains inside a metal suit, taking away all emotions and feelings. Dad, why would they be using spare parts?"

The Doctor only shook his head in annoyance. Aralyn sighed. "Alright, that's it. We've obviously been in this shop longer than any person in their right mind would, so I say we all go back to base. Craig, lead us back to your place and we'll take some time to come up with a plan, 'kay?"

Craig frowned, staring at Aralyn curiously. How could this be the girl be the same person he met a year ago? She wasn't the shy girl who never spoke a word. Here she was, taking charge in a moment of panic. The girl raised her eyebrow at Craig's agape mouth. She cleared her throat. "Don't make me repeat myself, Owens."

Craig cleared his throat. "Yes, ma'am."


	30. Closing Time (#2)

At the dining room table, the Doctor was hard at work, preparing some sort of powder and milk mixture. Aralyn ignored him, deep in her thoughts as Craig walked in. "I'm going down the shop. We've run out of milk. You know what to do if he cries," Craig instructed.

"No," the Doctor panicked.

"Me neither!" Craig called as he left the house. At the close of the door, Alfie started crying loudly from his crib upstairs. Aralyn sighed as the Doctor got up from his chair and went upstairs. She was utterly exhausted. She didn't understand why she was so tired, Time Lords rarely needed rest. They didn't need half as much sleep as humans.

Alfie's cries soon subsided as Aralyn's head started to pound. The Doctor must've done something right since Alfie kept quiet. She could feel herself slowly dozing off, her head bobbing slightly. To keep herself awake, she pushed her chair back and stood on her feet.

She climbed up the stairs as she heard the familiar, high pitched sound of the sonic coming from Alfie's room. As she neared the open door, she heard the Doctor talking softly. "You know, when I was little like you, I dreamt of the stars. I think it's fair to say, in the language of your age, that I lived my dream."

Aralyn slowly poked her head through the door, the Doctor's back to her as he held a quiet Alfie. A small galaxy of stars and streaks of pink and purple shone on the ceiling from a little nightlight. "I hope you have as much fun as I did, Alfie," he said quietly. "Your dad's trying his best, you know. Yes, I know, it's not his fault he doesn't have mammary glands. No, neither do I."

Aralyn laughed quietly, gaining the Doctor's attention to her figure in the doorway. She smiled at him fondly. "Look at you. It's like you're a natural or something."

The Doctor smiled back at her. Suddenly, a beeping noise came from outside the door. "Ara, why is there a sinister beeping coming from behind me?" She turned to see the Cybermat sitting beside the door, its teeth bared. "Oh, no you don't."

The Doctor pointed his sonic at it as sparks flew. "Come on, Alfie, run, it's only stunned." More sparks flew from the Cybermat as the Doctor and Aralyn walked around it carefully. Alfie began to cry as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The Doctor led the way into the kitchen and to the back, double doors. He pushed Aralyn outside, dropping his sonic on the kitchen floor in the process.

Aralyn tried to open the door, discovering the Doctor had locked them out. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

He pulled a phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear. "Come on, Craig, pick up, pick up, pick up!" Agonizing seconds later, the voicemail turned on. "Craig, it's me. Alfie is fine, but on no account enter the house."

"Doctor!" A voice from inside called. Craig was laying on the floor, holding the struggling Cybermat away from his face.

"No, no, no, no, no." The Doctor panicked, pushing Alfie into Aralyn's arms. "Stay back!" Aralyn backed up as the Doctor rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Suddenly, he ran at the glass door, breaking through it successfully.

"Where's Alfie?!" Craig cried.

"He's safe, he's safe!"

"Get it off me!"

The Doctor picked up his sonic from the floor. "I just have to find the right frequency to shut it down-"

"Kill it!"

"Alright, alright, move!" Craig didn't have time to react as the Doctor hit the Cybermat out of his hands. The silver rat quickly got back up, lunging for the Doctor's face. Aralyn ran in carefully through the broken door, Alfie in her arms.

"Baking tray, Craig, baking tray!" The Doctor threw down the Cybermat as Craig trapped it under the baking tray from the stovetop.

"Get on with it!" Craig shouted.

"Dad, it's shielded from metastatic energy!" Aralyn cried.

"Don't worry, I have an app for that. Stand back!" Craig backed away as the Doctor shot a beam of light at the Cybermat, successfully powering it down. "Success. That. Was. Amazing. You must be really, really strong! That thing should've had you easily."

"It's definitely dead?"

"Inactive, yes. Technically, never been alive. It was 'playing possum' before to take us by surprise. Bravo." Aralyn laughed nervously as Alfie looked around curiously, not knowing what just happened.

*** * * ***

"I'm knackered," Craig yawned as the Doctor examined the Cybermat. "That thing was eating up the electricity?"

"And transmitting it up to the Cybershop. But why? And why do they need power? Why are those conversions not complete yet? And what are they doing up there?"

"You said you were going to look at its brain."

"Well, I had to wipe its brain. Now I can reprogram it, use it as a weapon against them."

Craig sat down next to the Doctor on the sofa, Alfie asleep on his shoulder. "The Cybermat came after us."

"No, after me."

"They sent it after us," Craig insisted.

"After me," the Doctor corrected. "Because of me, you and Alfie nearly died. Do you still feel safe with me, Craig?"

"That includes me as well," Aralyn said sleepily from the floor in front of the sofa.

Craig chuckled. "Can't help who your mates are."

"No. I am a stupid, selfish man. Always have been. I should've made you go. I should never have come here," he said forlornly.

"What would've happened if you hadn't come? Who else knows about the Cybermen and teleports?"

"I put people in danger."

"Stop beating yourself up. If it weren't for you, this whole planet would be an absolute ruin," Craig added.

The Doctor sighed. "Uh, Craig, very soon I won't be here. My time is running out. I don't mean Exodor. Silence will fall when the question is asked. I don't even know what the question is, I always knew I'd die still asking. The thing is, Craig, it's tomorrow. Can't put it off anymore. Tomorrow is the day I-"

The Doctor cut himself off, seeing that Craig was fast asleep. He stood up, gently draping a blanket over the sleeping father and son. He looked down to see Aralyn sitting against the sofa, staring straight ahead with emotionless eyes.

"You should go to bed, too, Ara."

Aralyn inhaled shakily. "You shouldn't say things like that. So forlorn and sad, like the universe is ending." She stood up, facing him with sad eyes. "There is no way I'm letting you die. The universe isn't ready for you to die."

"Aralyn... I'm 1,103. I'm an old man."

"Why do you think that'll change my mind?" she said dangerously quiet.

"You need to go to bed," the Doctor changed the subject. Aralyn rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, please, you know Time Lords rarely need sleep. I'm wide awake and we are not ending this conversation."

"There's nothing left to talk about, Aralyn. You're clearly exhausted, go sleep for a few hours," he said seriously.

She knew he was right. She didn't have the strength to argue anymore. She nodded her head halfheartedly. "Alright. Fine. But don't you dare think this isn't going to brought up again."

The Doctor smiled weakly, despite the situation. "Goodnight, Ara. Sleep tight."

"Night," she said, making room on other sofa against the wall. She barely noticed the Doctor's retreating figure as her eyes closed by themselves.

*** * * ***

Craig woke up the next morning to Alfie crying on his shoulder. The answering machine beeped as Sophie started talking over the phone. "So, I'll be back around 10:00 because Melina's totally gone off on one. She's going to kill David Jenkins."

Craig stood up, looking around to see that the Doctor was missing. "Oh, no, no, no. Doctor?" he called out as he walked into the kitchen.

Suddenly, Aralyn shot up from her spot on the sofa. Her hair was a mess, but she was wide awake as ever. "What is it?" she shouted.

Craig shouted from the kitchen, "You idiot!"

Aralyn jumped up and ran after him. "What! What's wrong?"

"He's gone! He just left!" Aralyn looked at a small chalkboard to see the note her dad had written.

Dear Craig,

Going to stop Cybermen. Don't let Aralyn follow me. Sorry, goodbye.

The Doctor

"Oh, no you don't," Aralyn grumbled. She ran back to the sofa, quickly throwing on her shoes. "You can be such an idiot sometimes," she groaned to herself. "I'm going after him."

Craig followed her into the living room. "No, he said not to let you follow him. I'll go."

"He's my dad, Craig! You've got a baby to take care of, you stay here! I better not see you following me!" she cried as she ran out the door. Craig was left speechless at her outburst. He couldn't help the nagging thought in his head, telling him to go after her.

*** * * ***

After discovering that the Cybermen didn't fix the fused teleport, the Doctor made his way back into the changing room, trying to figure out exactly how they were still getting into the shop. "Secondary teleport? No, there is no other teleport. They must have had a backup system. Something complicated. Something powerful. Something shielded. Something like... a door? A door."

He turned into the last changing room at the end of the hallway. "A dyscillium-bonded steel door, disguised as a wall. That is cheating!"

He pressed a button next to the floor length mirror, the wall slowly opening up. "So, they didn't teleport down, they climbed up." He stepped into the wall, walking down a dark tunnel. At the bottom sat a large spaceship with flickering lights, almost as if it had crash landed. He quickly made his way inside, careful of any hiding Cybermen.

A Cybermen stood by a panel, slumped over as if powered down. "Well, well, well. You have been busy." A strip of white caught his attention on the dirt floor. He reached down and picked up a name tag with George's name on it. Suddenly, the sound of compressed footsteps rang out as a Cyberman approached.

"You have come to us," the robotic voice spoke.

"Took me a while. A lot on my mind. Let's see, this ship crashed here centuries ago. No survivors, but the systems are dormant, waiting for power, and then the council stick a load of new cables right on top of you. Bitey wakes up and channels the power. You start crewing up from the shop as best you can. Not enough power, not enough parts."

"When we are ready, we will emerge. We will convert this planet to Cyber-form."

"What, six of you?" the Doctor taunted.

"You know that is enough. You know us. You are the Doctor."

"Correct. And the Doctor always gives you a choice. Deactivate yourself or I deactivate you."

The Doctor raised his sonic defensively at the Cyberman. Suddenly, a second Cyberman approached him from behind. He was trapped. Suddenly, faint footsteps became loud as someone ran inside. "Dad! Dad, it's me!"

The Doctor whirled around to see Aralyn with disheveled hair and clothes race inside. She stopped at the doorway, none of her breath lost. "I told Craig to keep you away!"

"Did you really think I was going to follow directions?"

*** * * ***

The Doctor shouted in pain as a Cyberman held his arms behind his back. Aralyn watched helplessly as another alien robot held her back. "He must be the new leader."

"No. He is not like us," another Cyberman retorted. "Brain and binary muscular system incompatible. They will be discarded, other body parts may be of use."

"Oi!" a voice shouted. The Time Lords turned their heads to see Craig run in, holding up a scanner from the shopping mall. "Cybermen, you get off my planet or I activate this."

"Craig, stop this, get out!" the Doctor cried.

"It's like you said, Doctor. You got to believe you can do it."

A Cyberman stomped forward. "You located us?"

"Yeah, the teleport in the lift. A bit rubbish. And that little Cybermat never stood a chance. You see what you're dealing with?" Craig spat menacingly.

"You are compatible. You are intelligent."

The Cyberman shot out a spark of electricity, knocking the scanner out of his hand. Craig cried out as a Cyberman grabbed him. "No! I'm not intelligent. You don't want me!"

"Do not fear. We will take your fear from you. You will be like us. You will be more than us. Your designation is Cyber Controller. You will lead us. We will conquer this world."

The Cybermen lead Craig into a body shaped trap, pushing inside. "Doctor! Do something, please!" Aralyn tried to get out of the Cyberman's grasp, but it had an iron grip. The Doctor helplessly watched as Craig was held down in the trap.

"Craig, don't worry. I've reprogrammed their Cybermat. It'll drain their power," he said, pulling out the Cybermat from his pocket. It fell out of his hand and onto the ground where a Cyberman stomped on it, deactivating it permanently.

"You have failed, Doctor. Begin conversation, phase one. Cleanse the brain of emotions."

"No. Craig, fight it. They can't convert you if you fight back, you're strong, don't give in to it."

"Help me!" Craig cried.

"Think of Sophie, Craig. Think of Alfie," Aralyn tried to help. "Don't let them take it away."

"Make it stop, please! Make it stop!"

"Please, listen to me. I believe in you. I believe you can do this. I've always believed. In all of you, all my life," the Doctor said.

Craig's face went blank and emotionless. "I'm going to die, Craig. Tomorrow I'm going to die, but I don't mind if you just prove me right." Two sides of a Cyberman head closed around his face, finishing the first phase. "Craig!"

A bright streak went down its face, sealing Craig inside. "Begin full conversion."

Suddenly, the screens lit up around the panel as a live video feed came through. It looked like it was filmed by security cameras and it showed Val holding a crying Alfie. "Unknown sound wave detected. It is the sound of fear. It is irrelevant. We will remove all fear."

"Alfie, I'm so sorry," the Doctor called out. "Alfie, please, stop. We can't help him."

The sound of machinery powering down came from Craig's area. "Emotions eradicated. Conversion complete." As Alfie continued to cry, an alarm suddenly went off. Aralyn looked down to see Craig's fingers lightly moving. "Alert. Emotional subsystems rebooting. This is impossible."

"He can hear him," Aralyn realized. "He can hear Alfie."

Craig's head slowly moved as electricity crackled around his mask. "Oh, please, just give me this," the Doctor begged. "Craig, you wanted a chance to prove you're a dad, you are never going to get a better one than this."

Aralyn grinned as a thin streak starting creeping down Craig's mask. "What is happening?"

"What's happening, you metal moron, a baby is crying and you'd better watch out because guess what? Daddy's coming home!" the Doctor laughed.

The mask split open, revealing Craig's undamaged face. "Alfie!" Sparks flew as he started to bust out of his restraints. The Cybermen stumbled backwards as Craig shouted for his son. "Alfie, I'm here! I'm coming for you!"

Aralyn managed to get herself free from the Cyberman's arms as the Cybermen held their heads in pain. "You've triggered a feedback loop into their emotional inhibitors," the Doctor told Craig as he helped free him. "All that stuff they cut out of themselves, now they're feeling it."

"Which I'm guessing means a very big explosion," Aralyn finished.

"Overload! Overload!" The Doctor ran for the door, Craig and Aralyn behind him. "Get out! We need to get out!" Craig shouted.

"Ah! They've sealed the ship.

"We've got to get out of here!"

"You don't say!"

Suddenly, the Cybermen's head exploding, sending parts and pieces across the room. "The teleport!" Craig realized.

The Doctor ran until he found what he knew was the teleport. He sonicked the controls, sending sparks flying as he hugged Craig and Aralyn tightly as they teleported away.

*** * * ***

Aralyn opened her tightly closed eyes to find herself back in the lift, Craig and the Doctor right beside her. They had escaped the exploding Cybership. Craig ran out of the lift, searching for his baby. "How did you get in there?" Val asked.

"Alfie!" Craig ran up with a wide smile on his face.

"Here's your daddy," Val beamed as she handed over a now calm Alfie.

"That was another review, 10 out of 10," the Doctor grinned as Aralyn walked up behind him.

Craig gently kissed Alfie's head. "The Cybermen, they blew up. I blew 'em up with love."

"No, that's impossible. And also, grossly sentimental and over-simplistic. You destroyed them because of the deeply ingrained heredity human trait to protect one's own genes. Which, in turn, triggered-"

The Doctor was cut off as Aralyn put her hand over his mouth, stopping his rambling. "Of course you blew them up with love," she said simply.

*** * * ***

The Doctor explained to an employee how the building should be good as Craig walked up to Val with a new, clean shirt. "It suits you," she complimented.

"Thanks!"

"Discount applies to partners."

"Great."

"Are you two married, then?" she asked.

"No, no, we talked about it, but it's just a piece of paper, isn't it?" Craig replied easily as the Doctor and Aralyn walked over.

"I'm glad you two made up, for the baby's sake."

Craig raised an eyebrow as the Doctor was completely oblivious as always. "How do you mean?"

"It's nice for baby to have two daddies who love each other," Val said naturally. The Doctor suddenly looked incredibly uncomfortable. Aralyn on the other hand couldn't control her laughter. She slapped a hand over her face as unintelligent sounds came from her mouth.

"Aralyn!" the Doctor scolded. She paid him no mind as she sat on the shiny floor, her loud laughs turning into silent wheezes. She looked up to see the Doctor's sharp glare, sending her into another giggle fit.

"Wait," Craig laughed. "Hang on a sec. Two daddies? You think that I'm-"

"His companion," Val interrupted.

Craig laughed as he turned around. "Doctor..." It was too late. The Doctor and Aralyn were already gone.

*** * * ***

Craig soon went home, Alfie strapped to his chest. To his surprise, the house was no longer a mess like it had been that morning. "Who's tidied all this up?" he wondered out loud.

He walked into the kitchen, the room completely spotless. Just as he did, the Doctor and Aralyn walked in through the fixed, glass back door. "See? We do come back."

"How did you-"

"Time machine, of course," Aralyn smiled.

"But even with time travel, getting glaziers on a Sunday, tricky."

"You went back in time, that means you used up your hours. What about Exodor?"

"What about you being in trouble with Sophie when she comes back? I couldn't let that happen."

"You used up your time for me?"

"Course I did, you're me mate. I notice Stormageddon's very quiet and happy."

"He prefers the name Alfie now. And he's very proud of his dad," Aralyn discovered.

"He calls me dad?" Craig beamed.

"Yes, of course he does now." Alfie cooed and Aralyn smirked. "Yeah, he is a bit thick, isn't he?"

"Oi, shut up," Craig laughed.

"Well. Now it's time. We have to go." Aralyn looked down, visibly not ready for what was to come. Of course, Craig noticed her discomfort. "Doctor, I know that something's wrong. I can help you."

"Nobody can help me," the Doctor replied before quickly changing the subject. "Um, I hope Sophie won't mind, I need these." Aralyn's smile dropped even further as the Doctor pulled out some very familiar TARDIS blue envelopes.

"Where are you going to go?"

"America."

"Sophie will be home any second, are you sure-"

"I can't miss this appointment, Craig. Goodbye, mate."

"Wait there. One second," Craig ordered before quickly leaving the room. The Doctor poked his head into the fridge as Aralyn couldn't stand to make eye contact with him. Craig soon walked back in, a familiar Stetson hat in his hand. "From Sean's dad," he grinned, putting it on the Doctor's head. "You ride 'em, partner."

"Oh, thanks!"

The Doctor smiled one last time before turning back towards the door. Aralyn smiled at Craig, but it didn't meet her eyes. "Give my love to Sophie," she said quietly.

Suddenly, a knock came from the front door. "Doctor, that'll be Soph-" It was too late. The door was wide open and neither Aralyn or the Doctor were there.


	31. The Wedding of River Song

** _London. 5:02 pm. 22nd April, 2011._ **

"Not too many late nights in Gaul, I hope?"

Winston Churchill sat in Buckingham Senate as the Holy Roman Emperor after arriving on his personal mammoth. He watched as pterodactyls flew past the window on this lovely, blue skied day. The Silurian doctor had a blood pressure monitor strapped to Winston's arm while two Romans fanned him with large looking feathers.

"Just the one," Winston replied. "I had an argument with Cleopatra, dreadful woman. Oh, excellent dancer."

"I can tell from your blood pressure," the Silurian mused.

As the blood pressure monitor was removed, Winston glanced at the clock. "What time do you have, Doctor?"

"Two minutes past five, Caesar."

Winston frowned. "It's always two minutes past five. Day or night, it's always two minutes past five in the afternoon. Why is that?"

"Because that is the time, Caesar."

"And the date. It's always the 22nd of April. Does it not bother you?"

The Doctor sighed. "The date and time has always been the same, Caesar. Why should it start bothering me now?"

"I want to see the soothsayer, where is he?"

"In the Tower. Where you threw him the last time."

"Get him!"

*** * * ***

Winston Churchill heard the Romans barging into his room, dragging the soothsayer in with them. The man fell to his knees in front of Winston. "Leave us," he ordered. He looked down at the man covered in raggedy clothes with long, disheveled hair. "Tick-tock goes the clock. As the old song says," he recited, looking back at the stuck clock.

"But they don't, do they? The clocks never tick. Something has happened to time. That's what you say, what you never stop saying. All of history is happening at once. But what does that mean? What happened? Explain to me in terms that I can understand." Winston spoke dangerously. "What happened to time?"

The soothsayer looked up at Winston silently. The Doctor kneeled before him, a scraggly beard covering his face. "A woman."

*** * * ***

** _Earlier_ **

"Imagine you were dying. Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home, and in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, you looked up and saw the face of the Devil himself. Hello, Dalek."

The Doctor wore a long green blazer and the Stetson Craig gave him. He stared into the eye stalk of a dying Dalek. He came for answers, and answers he would get. "_Emergency! Emergency! Weapons system disabled!_" the Dalek shrieked.

The Doctor sonicked the pepper pot's head, successfully taking off the top. "Hush now, I need some information from your data core. Everything the Daleks know about the Silence."

*** * * ***

** _The Docks of Calisto B_ **

The Doctor walked into a pub, aliens of all sort wandering around inside. He stepped up to the bar, the bartender doing a double take at his appearance. "Gideon Vandaleur. Get him. Now."

"Who says he's here?" the bartender sneered.

The Doctor placed the Dalek's eye stalk on the counter, the bartender giving him a wary look before quickly walking away.

*** * * ***

The Doctor calmly read a book at an empty table, waiting for Gideon Vandaleur to appear. The book he read was, "_Knitting for Girls_" and he knew Aralyn would tease him for it if she was here.

A hooded figure sat down at the secluded table. "Father Gideon Vandaleur. Former envoy of the Silence." Gideon pulled his hood down, revealing a black eyepatch on his right eye. "My condolences," the Doctor whispered.

"Your what?"

"Gideon Vandaleur has been dead for six months." The Doctor quickly sonicked the man before him, causing him to freeze up. The Doctor stared into the man's eye, spotting a tiny man. "Can I speak to the Captain, please?"

*** * * ***

Sparks flew inside the Tesselecta as the Doctor spoke. "_Hello again. The Tesselecta time-traveling, shape-changing robot, powered by miniaturized people. Never get bored of that. Long time since Berlin_."

"Doctor, what have you done to our systems?" the Captain spoke.

"_Oh, it'll be fine if you behave. Now, this unit can disguise itself as anyone in the universe. So, if you're posing as Vandaleur, you're investigating the Silence. Tell me about them_."

"Tell you what?"

"_One thing. Just one. Their weakest link_."

*** * * ***

The Doctor found himself in the middle of a chess game. A large crowd surrounded him and his opponent who was deciding his next move. "The crowd are getting restless," he spoke. "They know the queen is your only legal move. Except you've already moved it twelve times, which means there are now over four million volts running through it."

The crowd shouted at the man to hurry up and make his move. "That's why they call it live chess," he smirked. "Even with the gauntlet, you'll never make it to bishop 4 alive."

"I am a dead man unless you concede the game," his opponent spoke.

"But I'm winning."

"Name your price."

"Information."

"I work for the Silence," the man said. "They would kill me."

"They're going to kill me, too, very soon," the Doctor countered. "I was just going to lie down and take it. But you know what? Before I go, I'd like to know why I have to die."

"Dorium Maldovar. He's the only one who can help you."

"Dorium's dead. The Monks beheaded him at Demon's Run."

"I know. Concede the game Doctor, and I'll take you to him," the man persuaded. The Doctor knocked over his chess piece, a riot starting in the crowd.

*** * * ***

"The Seventh Transept. Where the Headless Monks keep the leftovers. Watch your step, there are traps everywhere." The man had taken the Doctor to the place where he said Dorium was. They were currently in a dark, stone, abandoned looking corridor with skulls on the shelves lining the walls.

"I hate rats," the Doctor groaned.

"There are no rats in the Transept."

"Oh, good."

"The skulls eat them." At the new torch light, the skulls on the shelves turned towards the newcomers, seeing to be staring at them.

"The Headless Monks behead you alive, remember?" They came to a small open room, more shelves lining the walls, inactive skulls laying on the dirt floor. There were six pedestals with small boxes sitting on top.

"Why are some of them in boxes?" the Doctor asked.

"Because some people are rich and some people are left to rot. And Dorium Maldovar was always very rich." The man set down his flaming torch as the Doctor pointed his sonic at one of the boxes. He pulled the sliding panel back, revealing Dorium's face. His eyes were closed, seemingly asleep. Suddenly, he sneezed, startling the Doctor.

"Thank you for bringing me, Gantok," he thanked.

"My pleasure," he returned, raising a gun at the Time Lord. "It saves me the trouble of burying you. Nobody beats me at chess."

The Doctor noticed the floor beneath Gantok slowly giving out. Before he could warn him, Gantok fell through with a shout. "Gantok!"

Thousands of skulls filled the hole. Their mouthes were chomping at Gantok who screamed as he sank lower and lower into the pit. Suddenly, the hissing skulls turned to the Doctor. He quickly pulled out his sonic, closing up the hole.

Dorium awoke with a start. "Hello? Is someone there?" The Doctor hesitantly walked into Dorium's view. "Ah, Doctor. Thank God it's you. The Monks, they turned on me."

"Well, I'm afraid they rather did a bit."

"Give it to me straight, Doctor," Dorium requested grimly. "How bad are my injuries?"

The Doctor pressed his lips together. "Well..."

Dorium let out a loud laugh as the Doctor started realized what he did. "Oh, your face. Oh, it's not so bad, really. As long as they get your box the right way up. I got a media chip fitted in my head years ago and the Wi-fi down here is excellent. So I keep myself entertained," he chuckled.

"I need to know about the Silence."

"Oh," Dorium frowned. "A religious order of great power and discretion. The sentinels of history, as they like to call themselves."

"And they want me dead?"

"No, not really. They just don't want you to remain alive."

"That's okay, then. I was a bit worried for a minute there," the Doctor said sarcastically.

"You're a man with a long and dangerous past. But your future is infinitely more terrifying. The Silence believe it must be averted."

"You know, you could have told me all this the last time we met."

Dorium sighed in annoyance. "It was a busy day and I _got beheaded_."

The Doctor stepped forward. "What's so dangerous about my future?"

"On the Fields of Trenzalore at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature could speak falsely or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered," Dorium recited.

_"Silence will fall when the question is asked_."

"Silence _must_ fall would be a better translation. The Silence are determined that the question will never be answered, that the Doctor will never reach Trenzalore-"

"I don't understand, what's it got to do with me?"

"The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight. Would you like to know what it is?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" The Doctor looked up as the skulls turned to face him menacingly. "Very, very sure?" Dorium asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Of course."

"Then I shall tell you. But on your own head be it," he chuckled.

*** * * ***

Aralyn jumped as the TARDIS door flew open before being slammed shut. She looked from her book and seat on the jump seat to see the Doctor run in with a large box in hand. A muffled voice came from the box as Aralyn jumped up. "It's not my fault. Put me back!"

The Doctor set the box on Aralyn's seat, causing a shout of pain to come from inside the box. "What exactly have you brought back this time?" she asked incredulously.

The Doctor ignored her and the box, flying the TARDIS away quickly. He didn't let Aralyn come with him on his search for information. She tried to convince him, finally giving up and agreeing to stay in the TARDIS. "Have you got Wi-fi here? I'm bored already. And my nose is hurting," the box complained. "We all have to die, Doctor. But you more than most. You do see that, don't you?"

Aralyn glared at the box, finding a sliding panel on the side. She opened the box, surprised at seeing Dorium's decapitated head upside down. "Oh! Why hello there, Dorium! Fancy seeing you here. Blunt as ever I see," she sneered, promptly shutting the panel.

Aralyn looked over to see the Doctor gloomily staring at a screen. The screen showed an image of him with the words _Death Date: 22/04/2011. Time: 5:02 pm. Location: Lake Silencio, Utah_.

Aralyn frowned, flicking a lever to turn the screen off. The Doctor shot a look her way. "Aralyn..." he whispered.

"No," she hissed, walking to the other side of the console.

Dorium started protesting from his box. "Doctor. Please. Open my hatch. I've got an awful headache. Which, to be honest, means more than it used to."

The Doctor groaned, throwing open the hatch. "Why Lake Silencio? Why Utah?" he shuddered.

"It's a still point in time. Makes it easier to create a fixed point, and your death is a fixed point, Doctor. You can't run away from this."

"Been running all my life, why should I stop?"

"Because now you know what's at stake, why your life must end."

"Not today," the Doctor brushed off.

"What's the point in delaying? How long have you delayed already?"

"Don't you make me shut your hatch again," Aralyn hissed at the blue head.

The Doctor grabbed the TARDIS phone, holding it up to his ear. "Hello! It's me. Get him. Tell him we're going out and it's all on me except for the money and the driving," he spoke, holding the phone away from his ear. "I have got a time machine, Dorium, it's all still going on. For me, it never stops. Liz I is still waiting in a glade to elope with me. I could help Rose Tyler with her homework. I could go on all Jack's stag parties in one night-"

"Time catches up with us all, Doctor," Dorium warned.

"Well, it has never laid a glove on me!" The Doctor held the phone up, smiling once more. "Hello?"

"_Doctor, I'm so sorry_," a woman's voice spoke. "_We didn't know how to contact you. I'm afraid Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart passed away. A few months ago... Doctor?"_

"Yeah..." he stuttered. "Yes, yes, er..."

"_It was very peaceful. He talked a lot about you, if that's any comfort. Always made us pour an extra brandy in case you came round one of these days."_

"Dad?" Aralyn spoke quietly. "What is it, what's wrong?"

The Doctor stared at her, then back at the phone. "Nothing... just..." He quickly put the phone away before taking a shaky breath. He pulled the TARDIS blue envelopes out of his pocket. "It's time." Aralyn couldn't stay for another minute, and left the room abruptly.

*** * * ***

** _Lake Silencio_ **

The Doctor and his companions sat on the sand beside Lake Silencio, mindlessly enjoying their get-together after quite some time. Amy, Rory and River were there, making sure Jaime Woods didn't have a sip of wine.

A truck pulled up and the Doctor waved at the man who climbed out. River looked at the lake to see the astronaut standing in the water.

"You all need to stay back," the Doctor warned. "Whatever happens now, you do not interfere."

As the astronaut stepped foot on land, he solemnly approached it, standing right in front of it. His companions watched in shock as he stopped in front of it. The Doctor tried to keep his composure, but fear was evident in his eyes. The astronaut, opening its helmet to reveal a distraught River who couldn't control her actions.

"Well, then," the Doctor spoke calmly. "Here we are at last."

"I can't stop it. The suit's in control," she cried.

"You're not supposed to. This has to happen."

"Run!" she whispered.

"I did run. Running brought me here."

"I tried to fight it, but I can't. It's too strong."

"I know. It's okay. This is where I die. This is a fixed point. This must happen. This always happens. Don't worry. You won't even remember this. Look over there."

River inhaled shakily as she spotted herself in her peripheral vision. "It's me. How can I be there?"

"That's you from the future, serving time for a murder you probably can't remember. My murder," the Doctor said darkly.

"Why would you do that? Make me watch?"

"So that you know this is inevitable," the Doctor said as the suit forced River to hold up her gun. "And you are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven."

"Please, my love. Please, please, just run."

"Can't."

"Time can be rewritten."

"Don't you dare," he warned. "Goodbye, River." The Doctor closed his eyes in anticipation. River audibly struggled to keep herself from pulling the trigger.

Suddenly, two gun shots rang out across the lake. River gasped as a small thud followed the shots. The Doctor flinched at the shots, neither of them hitting him. He opened an eye to see he was still at Lake Silencio.

"Hello, sweetie," River smirked. Her hand was ridden of the gun to kill the Doctor.

"What have you done?"

"Just a little something we planned," a voice spoke. The Doctor turned his head to see Aralyn, pointing a gun that had recently fired, and a piece of machinery strapped to her wrist.

"She told me all about today. We had the plan that I would drain my weapon systems," River explained smugly. "As a backup plan, I gave Aralyn my handy-dandy vortex manipulator to remove my gun by force."

"But it's fixed," the Doctor gaped. "This is a fixed point in time."

"Fixed points can be rewritten," River said.

"Aralyn, you know how dangerous this is," the Doctor scolded. "Can't you just let me die?"

She put her gun in her pocket with a stern look on her face. "Like hell I am."

*** * * ***

"Well, what happened?" Winston Churchill asked.

"Nothing," the 'soothsayer' spoke.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing happened. And then it kept happening. Or, if you'd prefer, everything happened at once and it won't ever stop. Time is dying. It's going to be 5:02 in the afternoon for all eternity. The needle's stuck on a record."

"A record?" Winston mused. "Good Lord, man, have you never heard of downloads?"

"Said Winston Churchill."

Suddenly, Winston straightened up. "Gun smoke. That's gun smoke." He looked down at his revolver. "Oh, I appeared to have fired this."

The Doctor looked down to see himself holding a spear. "We seem to be defending ourselves."

"I don't understand."

"The creatures that lead the Silence, remarkable beings, they're memory-proof," the Doctor whispered.

"But what does that mean?"

"Well, you can't remember them. The moment you look away, you forget they were ever there." The Doctor looked down to see four marks on his arm. The Silence are here. "Don't panic," he whispered to Winston. "In small numbers, they're not too difficult."

The Doctor readied his spear, seeing dozens of tally marks on his arm. He looked up to see dozens of Silence upside down on the ceiling.

Suddenly, a black beeping cylinder rolled in. The Doctor pushed Winston down as the smoke bomb exploded. Armed soldiers flooded in, holding up their guns. "Keep the Silence in sight at all ties. And keep your eye drives active."

"Who the devil are you? Identify yourselves," Winston demanded as a figure approached them.

"Pond. Amelia Pond."

Winston quickly pointed his gun at her. "No! She's on our side. It's okay, Winston." Amy stepped forward emotionless, dressed in black with an eyepatch over her right eye. "No," the Doctor whispered. "No, Amy. Amy. Why are you wearing the..." She held a gun up to his head and pulled the trigger.

*** * * ***

The Doctor woke up with a pounding headache. He opened his eyes to see a fan on the ceiling. He heard the whistle of a train as he slowly looked across the room. His eyes landed on Amelia Pond standing in the doorway. "Amy."

"Those stun guns aren't fun, I'm sorry. I wanted to avoid a long conversation. You need to get up though, we'll be in Cairo shortly," she spoke warily.

"Amy Pond," the Doctor breathed, sitting up. "Amelia Pond from Leadworth, please, listen to me. I know it seems impossible, but you know me. In another version of reality, you and I were best friends. We-We travelled together. We had adventures." The Doctor stood up painfully, not taking note of the sketches all along the wall.

"Amelia Pond. You grew up with a time rift in the wall of your bedroom. You can see what others can't," he said, absentmindedly picking up a model of the TARDIS. "You can remember things that never happened. And if you try, if you really, really try, you'll be able to..."

Amy raised an eyebrow at him, glancing at the small TARDIS model. "Oh." She nodded her head behind him. He turned to see sketches of Cybermen, Daleks, and many memories from their times together.

"You look rubbish," Amy smirked.

"You look wonderful," he retorted, tossing her the model.

"So do you. But don't worry." She reached into a cabinet and pulled out his ordinary clothes. "We'll soon fix that," Amy laughed. "Oh! Geronimo!"

*** * * ***

"Okay, you can turn around now. How do I look?"

The Doctor was back in his normal clothes, his beard now gone. He turned to Amy who sat at her desk. "Cool."

"Really?"

"No."

"Cool office, though," the Doctor complimented. "Why do you have an office? Are you like a special agent boss lady or something? Not sure about the eye patch, though."

"It's not an eye patch. Time's gone wrong. Some of us noticed. There's a whole team of us working on it. You'll see."

"And you've got an office on a train! That is so cool! Can I have an office? Never had an office before. Or a train. Or a train/office."

Amy grinned, throwing her arms around him. "God, I've missed you!"

"Okay, hugging and missing now. Where's the Roman?"

"You mean Rory? My husband, Rory, yeah? Um..." Amy turned and snatched a sketch off her desk. "That's him, isn't it? I have no idea. I can't find him. I love him very much, don't I?"

The Doctor examined the picture that most definitely wasn't Rory. "Apparently."

"I have to keep doing this. Writing and drawing things. It's just so hard to keep remembering," she admitted.

"But it's not your fault. Time's gone wrong. Do you remember why?"

"Lakeside."

"Lake Silencio, Utah. I died."

"But then you didn't die," Amy interrupted. "See, I remember it twice, different ways."

"Two different versions of the same event, both happening in the same moment. Time split wide open. Now look at it. All of history happening at once."

"But does it matter?" she asked. "I mean, can't we just stay like this?"

"Time isn't just frozen. It's disintegrating. It will spread and spread and all of reality will simply fall apart."

Amy looked down as the door behind the Doctor opened. "Ma'am, we're about to arrive. Eye drives need to be activated as soon as we disembark." The Doctor turned to see Rory with a similar eye patch and an army uniform on.

"Good point. Thank you, Captain Williams."

The Doctor smiled stupidly at him. "Hello."

Rory didn't smile. "Hello, sir. Pleased to meet you."

"Captain Williams, best of the best," Amy introduced. "Couldn't live without him."

The Doctor looked at Amy's sketch of who she thought was Rory and let out a laugh. "No!"

"What is wrong?" Amy asked as Captain Williams walked away.

"Amy, you'll find your Rory, you always do. But you really have to look."

"I am looking!"

"Oh, my Amelia Pond," the Doctor said fondly. "You don't always look hard enough."

"Why are you older?" she whispered. "If time isn't really passing, then how can you be aging?"

"Time is still passing for me. Every explosion has an epicenter. I'm it. I'm what's wrong."

"What's wrong with you?"

The Doctor closed his eyes tightly before replying. "I'm still alive.

*** * * ***

"You have to put it on, sir," Captain Williams told the Doctor who curiously looked an eye patch he was given.

"An eye patch? What for?"

"It's not an eye patch," Amy spoke from behind them.

"It's an eye drive, sir," Captain Williams corrected. "It communicates directly with the memory centers of the brain. Acts as external storage."

"Only think that works on them," Amy added. "Because no living mind can remember these things. They were now in their base inside of the pyramid of Giza. As they walked through the darkened corridor, the Doctor noticed the Silence were trapped in underwater, glass containers.

"The Silence. We've captured over a hundred of them now. All held in this pyramid," Captain Williams said.

"Yeah, I've encountered them before," the Doctor said darkly. "Always wondered what they looked like."

"Well, put your eye drive on and you'll retain the information, but only for as long as you're wearing it," Amy explained.

"The Silence have human servants, they all wear these?"

"They'd have to."

"This way," Captain Williams ordered. "They seem to be noticing you," he told the Doctor.

"Yeah. They would," the Doctor replied warily.

"So why aren't the human race killing the Silence on sight anymore?"

"That was a whole other reality. What are the tanks for?"

"They can draw electricity from anything, it's how they attack," Captain Williams said. "The fluid insulates them and I really don't like the way they're looking at you."

"Me neither."

"Ma'am, I'm sure it's nothing, but I should really check this out. They haven't been this active in a while," Captain Williams told Amy.

"You two, upstairs. Check all the tank seals, then the floors above. Get everyone checking," he ordered two other soldiers. They nodded once before carrying out his orders. "You go ahead, ma'am."

"Thank you, Captain Williams. Doctor, this way," Amy said, leading him down the corridor.

"Captain Williams, nice fella. What's his first name?"

"Captain. Just through here," Amy brushed off.

The Doctor stopped. "Just, uh, give us a moment. Just need to check something. Ma'am," he saluted. The Doctor left Amy as he went to go talk to Rory. He found the Captain standing at one of the Silence tanks, checking the seals. "Loyal soldier, waiting to be noticed. Always the pattern. Why is that?"

"Sorry, sir?"

"Your boss, you should just ask her out. She likes you. She said so," he deadpanned.

Rory gave him a look. "Really, sir? What did she say?"

"Oh, she just sort of generally indicated-"

"What exactly did she say?" Rory interrupted.

"She said that you were a Mr. Hottie... ness. And that she would like to go out with you for texting and scones."

Rory inhaled in annoyance. "You really haven't done this before, have you?"

"No, I haven't," he admitted.

After quite a bit of an awkward silence, Rory rolled his eyes. "See you in a moment, sir."

"Yes," the Doctor spoke, awkwardly patting his shoulder before taking off to find Amy standing at the top of the stairs.

"Come on, Doctor. Time for you to meet some old friends." Amy opened the heavy, double doors leading them into the main control room. Egyptian items were scattered all across the room as soldiers marched around. A particular mess of curly blonde hair caught the Doctor's attention.

"Hi, honey, I'm home," he announced.

River turned to face him, a similar black eye patch covering her right eye. "And what sort of time do you call this?"

She moved away to reveal Madame Kovarian tied to a chair. "The death of time. The end of time. The end of us all. Oh, why couldn't you just die?" she whined.

"Did my best, dear, I showed up," the Doctor spoke. "You just can't get the psychopaths these days. Love what you've done with the pyramids! How did you swing all this?"

"Hallucinogenic lipstick," River spoke proudly. "Works wonders on President Kennedy. And Cleopatra was a real pushover."

"I always thought so."

"She mentioned you."

"What did she say?"

"Put down that gun."

"Did you?" the Doctor flirted.

"Eventually."

Madame Kovarian cringed. "Oh, they're flirting. Do I have to watch this?"

"It was such a basic mistake, wasn't it, Madame Kovarian? Take a child, raise her into a perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor. Who else was I going to fall in love with?"

"That's not funny, River. Reality is fatally compromised. Tell me you understand that."

"Dinner?"

"I don't have the time. Nobody has the time. Because as long as I'm alive, time is dying, because of you and Aralyn, River."

"Because I refuse to kill the man I love. And a daughter couldn't bear to see her father die."

"Oh, you love, do you? Aw, that's sweet of you," he spoke dangerously, approaching her.

"Get him!" Amy ordered. Before the Doctor could touch her, he was pulled back by her soldiers.

"I'm not a fool, sweetie, I know what happens if we touch," River taunted. The Doctor relaxed before swiftly grabbing her arm. "Get off me! Get him off me! Doctor, no, let go!"

"Time's moving!" someone cried.

"Get him off me!"

"I'm sorry, River, it's the only way," the Doctor said.

Suddenly, River was back at Lake Silencio right before she kills the Doctor. She ripped her arm out of his grasp, finding herself back in the pyramid. "Cuff him," she hissed.

"Oh, why do you always have handcuffs?" the Doctor groaned. "It's the only way, River. We're the opposite poles of the disruption. If we touch, we short out the differential. Time can begin again."

"And I'll be by a lakeside, killing you without Aralyn to stop me," River said quietly.

"And time won't fall apart. The clocks will tick. Reality will continue. There isn't another way."

"I didn't say there was, sweetie. There are so many theories about you and I, you know?"

"Idle gossip."

"Archaeology."

"Same thing," the Doctor grumbled.

"Am I the woman who marries you or the woman who murders you?"

"I don't want to marry you," the Doctor spat.

"I don't want to murder you," River countered.

"Doctor. What's that?" Amy asked nervously. They all looked up to see water dripping from the ceiling.

"The pyramid above us," the Doctor began. "How many Silence have you got trapped inside it?"

"None," Madame Kovarian smirked. "They're not trapped. They never have been. They've been waiting. For this, Doctor. For you."

Suddenly, Captain Williams burst through the door. "They're out! All of them!" He quickly barricaded the door. "No one gets in here! Ma'am, my men out there should be able to lock this down. We have them outnumbered."

"And you're wearing eye drives based on mine, I think," Madame Kovarian taunted. "Whoops."

"What do you mean?" A woman started screaming as her eye drive started to electrocute her. She collapsed to the floor in pain. "Help her, help her!"

Amy kneeled down beside her. "She's dead." M

adame Kovarian smirked as the Doctor shouted in pain. "Eye drives off now! Remove them!" Amy quickly removed his eye drive as hers started to electrocute her.

"The Silence would never allow an advantage without taking one themselves. The effects will vary from person to person, either death or debilitating agony," Madame Kovarian laughed from her chair. "But they will take you all, one by one." She frowned as her eye drive shot through a pinch or electricity. "What are you doing? No, it's me."

The Doctor turned to River who took off her eye drive along with Amy's. "We can stop this right now, you and I. Amy, tell her!"

"We've been working on something. Just let us show you," Amy said.

"No point. There's nothing you can do, my time is up."

"We're doing this for you!" she protested.

"And people are dying for me. I won't thank you for that, Amelia Pond."

"Just let us show you," River begged.

"Captain Williams, how long do we have?" Amy asked.

"Ah, a couple of minutes?"

"That's enough," River confirmed. "We're going to the receptor room, right at the top of the pyramid. I hope you're ready for a climb."

River and the Doctor left for the room as Amy started to follow them. "I'll wait down here, ma'am, buy you as much time as I can," Captain Williams said. "You'll have to take your eye drive off."

He shook his head. "Can't do that, ma'am. Can't forget what's coming."

"But it could activate any second."

He pointed his gun at the door. "It has activated, ma'am," he said as small sparks of electricity came from his eye drive. "But I'm of no use to you if I can't remember. You have to go now, ma'am!"

"Yes. Thank you, Captain Williams," Amy spoke before leaving.

Captain Williams kept his gun pointed at the banging door as best as he could. The pain only intensified as the banging on the door became more aggressive.

The door burst open as Captain Williams finally gave in to the pain. He shouted as the Silence came through. _"Rory Williams, the man who dies and dies again_," a Silent taunted. "_Die one last time and know she will never come back for you_."

To go against its last words, Amy stepped in, emotionlessly firing a machine gun at the Silence in the doorway. She finally stopped when every one lay dead on the floor. She pulled Captain Williams up into a sitting position. "Come on, you, up you get. You alright?"

She pulled his eye drive off, pulling him towards the receptor. They were stopped by a small, pitiful voice. "Amy, help me," Madame Kovarian begged. Her eye drive lay half attached to her face, no longer shocking her.

Amy stared at her incredulously. She was about to step away from Captain Williams when the click-clack of a pair of heels stopped her. Everyone turned their heads to see Aralyn step out of the shadows. She was dressed in black as the others, tall black heels completing her outfit.

She had a look on her face that would send the toughest villains running. She stepped out of the darkness, her eyes trained on the helpless Madame Kovarian. "You took away Amy's baby. You captured me while you were at it," she spoke, slowly getting closer to the woman in the chair.

"I'm not one to wallow in self-pity or seek out sympathy. Do you know what that means, Madame?" she spoke dangerously calm. "I'm not upset that you kidnapped me and put me through hell, no. Amy will never see her baby again and that's not something that sits lightly with me."

Madame Kovarian's lip quivered in fear. "But you'll save me. You know that it is what the Doctor would do, your father. You love him too much to disappoint him."

Aralyn lowered her head, standing in front of the monster of a woman. "You are right, I do love him. With all my hearts. But do you know where you are wrong?" She leaned over to be face to face with Madame Kovarian. "I am not my father. And he is not here."

Before anyone could react, Aralyn reached up and shoved her eye drive back into place. With an emotionless face, she walked out of the room, Amy and Captain Williams following her as Madame Kovarian started to scream. She looked back at the two of them. "You two should get a drink sometime."

*** * * ***

The Doctor and River reached the top of the pyramid to reveal a beacon in the middle. "What's this? Oh, it's a tiny-winy distress beacon. Who built this?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm in charge of the TARDIS. I understand the physics."

"Yes, but that's all you've got, is a distress beacon?"

"I've been sending out a message. A distress call. Outside the bubble of our time, the universe is still turning and I've sent a message everywhere. To the future and the past, the beginning and the end of everything. _The Doctor is dying, please, please help_."

"River! River, this is ridiculous! That would mean nothing to anyone. It's insane! Worse, it's stupid! You embarrass me."

Amy and Rory joined them at the top, Aralyn coming up behind them. "We barricaded the door, we've got a few minutes. Just tell him," Amy spoke. "Just tell him, River!"

"Those reports of the sunspots and the solar flares, they're wrong. There aren't any. It's not the sun. It's you. The sky is full of a million, million voices saying, 'Yes, of course. We'll help'. You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. Did you think when your time came, you'd really have to do more than just ask? You've decided that the universe is better off without you. But the universe doesn't agree."

"River, no one can help me. A fixed point has been altered. Time is disintegrating," the Doctor said, harshly quiet.

"I can't let you die!"

"But I have to die!"

"Shut up!" she snapped. "I can't let you die without knowing you are loved. By so many and so much! And by no one more than me."

Aralyn cleared her throat. "Sorry, are you sure you're thinking about everyone there, River?"

"River, Ara, you two and I, we know what this means," the Doctor said. "We are ground zero of an explosion that will engulf all reality. Billions on billions will suffer and die."

"And we won't suffer without you?" Aralyn asked quietly. "I've told you so many times, but you never bothered to so much as listen to me." She gazed into his eyes as strongly as she could. "I will do anything to keep you alive."

The Doctor looked down, shaking his head irritably. "Oh, you are so my daughter," he groaned.

Aralyn knew there was only so much that could happen now. She knew that whatever happened now was on her and River. Frankly, she could care less about the situation.

"Amy, uncuff me now," he ordered. She hesitantly stepped forward before freeing his hands of the cuffs. "Okay, I need a strip of cloth about a foot long. Anything will do." The Doctor reached up and began to untie his bowtie. "Never mind. River, take one end of this."

Aralyn's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. "Wrap it around your hand and hold it out to me."

"What am I doing?" River asked.

"As you're told. Now, we're in the middle of a coma zone, so we'll have to do the quick version," he said, wrapping his hand around the other end of the bowtie. "Captain Williams, say, 'I consent and gladly give'," he instructed.

"To what?"

"Just say it! Please."

Rory stared at him in confusion. "I consent and gladly give."

"Need you to say it, too," he directed at Amy. "Mother of the bride."

"I consent and gladly give."

"Now, River, I am about to whisper something in your ear and you have to remember it very, very carefully and tell no one what I said."

As said, the Doctor leaned down and whispered into River's ear. She pulled back, looking at him with utter amazement. Aralyn raised an eyebrow.

"I just told you my name," he said out loud. "Now, there you go, River Song. Melody Pond. You're the woman who married me. And, wife, I have a request. This world is dying and it's my fault. And I can't bear it another day. Please, help me. There isn't another way."

"Then you may kiss the bride."

"I'll make it a good one."

"You'd better."

*** * * ***

Amy and Aralyn sat outside their little house at a table in the backyard. The stars were out, lighting up the night sky. Ever since the Doctor died at Lake Silencio, Aralyn moved in with Amy and Rory. She couldn't fly the TARDIS well enough to travel on her own and she couldn't see herself anywhere else.

A surge of electricity came from the front of the house, but Amy and Aralyn weren't bothered by it. "Heard there was a freak meteor shower two miles away," Amy spoke. "So I got us a bottle, but Ara's not allowed to have any."

River appeared, pouring herself a glass. "Thank you, dear."

"Amy, I'm 187," Aralyn protested. "I'm not exactly going to get in trouble for underage drinking."

"You're still underage in my books," Amy finished. "So, where are we?" she asked River.

"I just climbed out of the Byzantium. You were there. So young. Didn't have a clue who I was," River spoke, sitting in an empty chair. "How are you doing?"

"Rough. My head's running with thoughts that aren't exactly comforting." Aralyn whispered. "I killed Madame Kovarian."

"In an aborted timeline, in a world that never was," River pointed out.

"It still happened. I killed her because of my sympathy for Amy. For getting her baby taken away."

Aralyn pulled her feet up to her chest. "Oh well. Doesn't really matter now, does it?"

"I need to talk to the Doctor, but I can't now, can I?" Amy asked.

River set down her glass. "If you could talk to him, would it make a difference?"

"He's dead, so... so I can't."

"Oh, mother. Of course he isn't!"

"Not to you, I suppose. You're seeing the younger versions of him, running around, having adventures."

River nodded smugly. "Yeah, I am. But that's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Okay," River sighed. "I'm going to tell you what I probably shouldn't. The Doctor's last secret. Don't you want to know what he whispered in my ear?"

"He whispered his name."

"Rule 1: the Doctor lies," Aralyn recited, sneaking a sip of Amy's drink.

"So do I," River admitted. "All the time. Have to. Spoilers. Pretending I don't know you're my mother, pretending I didn't recognize a space suit in Florida."

"What did he whisper in your ear?"

"Oh... that man. He was always one step ahead of everyone. Always a plan," River delayed.

"River, what did he tell you?"

*** * * ***

Rory came home to find the three girls laughing hysterically in the back yard. He ran out, eager to know what was happening. Amy squealed, hugging him tightly, repeating what River told her. The Doctor wasn't dead.

"Are you sure, River?" Rory asked. "Are you really, properly sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I'm his wife!"

"Yes!" Amy exclaimed. "And I'm his... mother-in-law."

"Does that make you my new mum?" Aralyn grinned at River.

"Father, dear, I think mummy might need another drink."

*** * * ***

"Who's carrying me?" Dorium Maldovar asked from inside his box. "I demand to know! I'm a head. I have rights! I want my doors open this time. I demand that my doors are open!"

His wish became true as the hatch was slid open. Dorium discovered that he was in the same place as before, a hooded figure being the one who brought him in.

"Is it you? It is, isn't it? It is you. I can sense it! But how did you do it? How could you have possibly escaped?" The hooded figure dropped its robes, revealing himself to be the Doctor. Dorium's eyes widened.

"The Tesselecta. A Doctor in a Doctor's suit. Time said I had to be on that beach, so I dressed for the occasion. Barely got singed in that boat," he explained.

"So you're going to do this, let them all think you're dead?"

"It's the only way. Then they can all forget me. I got too big, Dorium, too noisy. Time to step back into the shadows."

"And Dr. Song? In prison all her days?"

"Her days, yes. Her nights... well, that's between her and me, eh?"

"So many secrets, Doctor," Dorium laughed. "I'll help you keep them, of course."

"Well, you're not exactly going anywhere, are you?" he mused.

"But you're a fool, nonetheless. It's all still waiting for you. The Fields of Trenzalore, the fall of the Eleventh and the question."

The Doctor saluted him and began walking away. "Goodbye, Dorium."

"The first question," Dorium continued. "The question that must never be answered! Hidden in plain sight! The question you've been running from all your life!"

The Doctor ignored him as he made his way back to the TARDIS. He had a daughter to pick up.

_"Doctor who?"_


End file.
